Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Sightless.
- adjective Having a maximal visual acuity of the better eye, after correction by refractive lenses, of one-tenth normal vision or less (20/200 or less on the Snellen test).
- adjective Of, relating to, or for sightless persons.
- adjective Performed or made without the benefit of background information that might prejudice the outcome or result.
- adjective Performed without preparation, experience, or knowledge.
- adjective Performed by instruments and without the use of sight.
- adjective Unable or unwilling to perceive or understand.
- adjective Not based on reason or evidence; unquestioning.
- adjective Slang Drunk.
- adjective Lacking reason or purpose.
- adjective Difficult to comprehend or see; illegible.
- adjective Incompletely or illegibly addressed.
- adjective Hidden from sight.
- adjective Screened from the view of oncoming motorists.
- adjective Secret or otherwise undisclosed.
- adjective Closed at one end.
- adjective Having no opening.
- adjective Botany Failing to produce flowers or fruits.
- noun Blind people considered as a group. Used with the:
- noun Something, such as a window shade or a Venetian blind, that hinders vision or shuts out light.
- noun A shelter for concealing hunters, photographers, or observers of wildlife.
- noun Something intended to conceal the true nature, especially of an activity; a subterfuge.
- noun A forced bet in poker that is placed before the cards are dealt.
- adverb Without seeing; blindly.
- adverb Without the aid of visual reference.
- adverb Without forethought or provision; unawares.
- adverb Without significant information, especially that might affect an outcome or result.
- adverb Informal Into a stupor.
- adverb Used as an intensive.
- transitive verb To deprive of sight.
- transitive verb To dazzle.
- transitive verb To deprive of perception or insight.
- transitive verb To withhold light from.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Same as
blende . - In horticulture, said of a shoot that does not bloom.
- Destitute of the sense of sight, whether by natural defect or by deprivation, permanently or temporarily; not having sight.
- Hence Figuratively, lacking in the faculty of discernment; destitute of intellectual, moral, or spiritual sight; unable to understand or judge.
- Not directed or governed by sight, physical or mental; not proceeding from or controlled by reason: as, blind groping; blind tenacity.
- Specifically Undiscriminating; heedless; inconsiderate; unreflecting; headlong.
- Not possessing or proceeding from intelligence or consciousness; without direction or control; irrational; fortuitous: as, a blind force or agency; blind chance.
- Filled with or enveloped in darkness; dark; obscure; not easily discernible: as, a blind corner.
- Hence Difficult to see, literally or figuratively; hard to understand; hard to make out; unintelligible: as, blind outlines; blind writing; blind reasoning.
- Unlighted: as, blind candles.
- Covered; concealed from sight; hidden.
- Out of sight or public view; out of the way; private; secret.
- Without openings for admitting light or seeing through: as, a blind window; “blind walls,”
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word blind.
Examples
-
Accordingly, when we say, ˜Homer was a blind man,™ the word ˜blind™ actively signifies the passive mode of understanding something as being without sight, and owes its semantic function to the way its corresponding concept is understood.
Thomas of Erfurt Zupko, Jack 2006
-
Antonio meets with a blind girl, whom he does or does not love, on whom at least he poetises, and whose forehead, _because she was blind_, he had kissed.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 62, No. 384, October 1847 Various
-
We must say of them, Let them alone; they be blind leaders of the blind (Matt. xv.
-
And that in certain circumstances, the term blind spot can be politically incorrect?
HOUSE RULES JODI PICOULT 2010
-
His lack of sight earned him the nickname "blind Sheikh."
-
Braille Books for the blind is another worthy way to donate books.
5 Tithing Ideas for the Writer in Your Life « Write Anything 2009
-
And when I am already convinced in advance of good approval, then I issue my orders and have the pleasure of observing what you call blind obedience.
Catherine the Great's Lessons for Despots Robert K. Massie 2011
-
Seriously, a blind is a big advantage over trying to sit still and imitate a stump.
-
Seriously, a blind is a big advantage over trying to sit still and imitate a stump.
-
In January 1993, Mr Bunglawala wrote a letter to Private Eye, the satirical magazine, in which he called the blind Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman ‘courageous’ - just a month before he bombed the World Trade Center in New York.
bilby commented on the word blind
"You might be wondering how to refer to people with vision, hearing, and mobility problems or specific diseases. It’s OK to refer to someone as blind but it’s better to say, 'a person who is blind' than 'a blind person', although organizations that serve people who are blind have names that reflect the old way of thinking, for example The American Council of the Blind. On the site for the Perkins School of the Blind, for instance, people who are blind are referred to as 'people with visual impairments' and 'people who are visually impaired'."
- Bonnie Trenga, What to Call People With Disabilities, 30 Jan 2009.
February 16, 2009
hernesheir commented on the word blind
In heraldry, without an eye; used to describe quatrefoils and cinquefoils that are not pierced.
October 7, 2011