BLIND


Meaning of BLIND in English

I. ˈblīnd adjective

( usually -er/-est )

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German blint blind, Old Norse blindr, Gothic blinds blind, Old English blandan to mix — more at blend

1.

a. : lacking the sense of sight by natural defect or by deprivation

b. : not having an eye or having an eye that does not see

that horse will shy if you come up on his blind side

c. : deficient in or lacking a physical sense other than sight — usually with a qualifying term

taste- blind

d. : for sightless persons

blind care

blind home

2.

a. : not having the faculty of discernment : lacking in intellectual light : unable or unwilling to judge rationally

blind to his own defects

b. : unsupported by evidence or plausibility : not substantially based

blind faith

3.

a. : without regard to rational discrimination, guidance, or restriction

if they persist in such a blind choice they must suffer for it

b. of an impersonal force : lacking any directing or controlling consciousness

our fate is in the hands of blind chance

c. : marked by complete insensibility

lying helpless in a blind stupor

especially : drunken to the point of insensibility : dead-drunk

4. : made or done without sight of objects or knowledge of facts comprising the chief or usual means of guidance or judgment

a blind purchase

as

a. : performed solely by the aid of data given by instruments within an airplane and without direct sight of landmarks

a blind landing

blind flying

b. in card games : made without seeing some relevant factor (as one's own hand or the dummy)

a blind lead

c. : made or done from psychological test data without reference to other case material

blind analysis

blind interpretation

5. : defective , incomplete , abortive :

a. of plants or plant parts

(1) : suppressed

(2) : lacking a growing point

(3) : failing to produce flowers or seeds — used especially of buds and bulbs

b. music : having alternate tones in different registers

a blind trill

a blind octave series

c. : incapable of producing a print — used of a lithographic surface

the plate went blind after 10,000 impressions

6.

a. archaic : lacking in light or brightness : dark

the little blind bedchamber — Samuel Pepys

b. obsolete : unlighted

a blind candle

also : having its light concealed

a blind lantern

c. : dull : lacking in brightness or luster ; especially : not polished or brought to a high gloss : finished dull

a mellow blind finish to the paneling

d. : impressed or tooled without gilding, inking, or coloring

blind lettering

blind scoring

7. : difficult to discern, make out, or discover : hard to locate or identify : obscure , hidden : as

a. archaic : out of the way ; also : secret

a blind meeting place

b. archaic , of a track or way : dim and ill-defined ; also : not easily followed or traced : involved , intricate

the blind mazes of this tangled wood — John Milton

c.

(1) of writing : illegible ; especially of mail : lacking a complete or legible address

(2) : concerned with the handling of blind mail

d. of the sense of a passage : unintelligible or uncertainly determinable

e. of material objects : constructed or arranged so as to be hidden from sight : covered

a blind veneer

blind seams in a shoe

as

(1) of a ditch or other water channel : consisting of a cut in the soil filled loosely with stones between which water can trickle or percolate

(2) of minerals and lodes and strata : not appearing in an outcrop at the surface

a blind vain

(3) of roads, driveways, and crossings : screened from the view of oncoming drivers or engineers

a blind crossroad

8.

a. : having but one opening or outlet : closed at one end : not permitting passage or flow all the way through

a blind alley

blind sockets

the blind gut

b. of a rivet or other fastener : designed to be inserted and made fast from one side

c. geology : terminating abruptly where it might be expected to continue

a blind joint in rocks

a blind valley that ends downstream where drainage disappears underground

9. : having no opening for light or passage : blank

a blind wall

as

a. of a hedge : too thick to see through or pass through

b. of a structural member : made without an opening but like a member that normally has an opening

a blind arch

a blind window over the stairs

10. railroading : turned edgewise — used of a target or of its position

II. transitive verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

Etymology: Middle English blinden, from blind, adjective

1. : to make blind:

a. : to deprive of the sense of sight

his right eye was blinded when he was a child

b. : to deprive of insight or understanding

prejudice usually blinds judgment

c. : deceive , fool , bedazzle

d. : to deprive temporarily or partially of vision : make seeing difficult for or painful to : dazzle

the hot glare blinded her as she stepped into the street

2.

a. : to withhold light from : darken

shrubbery blinding all their windows

b. : hide , conceal

c. : to make dim by comparison : outshine , eclipse

torches that blind the candles

d. : to render nonlustrous : dull

a synthetic fabric may need to be blinded in the finishing process

3. : to fill the interstices of : clog: as

a. : to cover (a newly paved road) with a coating of sand and gravel in order that joints may be filled

b. : to cover (drain tiles) with earth while the trench is being filled

4. : to stamp (as a book cover) without gilding or coloring — often used with in

5. : to protect with blindages or with blinds

III. noun

( -s )

1. : something to hinder sight or keep out light: as

a. : a screen used to deflect or redirect light or to restrict observation from without: as

(1) : window shutter

(2) : a roller window shade

(3) : venetian blind

(4) chiefly Britain : awning

(5) : brise-soleil

(6) : a shutter for a porthole

b. : blinder

c. : a cloth covering for the eyes used especially in games

2. : a place or means of concealment : ambush 1 ; especially : a concealing enclosure from which a person may shoot game or observe wildlife

3.

a. : something put forward to screen or cover another object or design : subterfuge , deception

the holding company was a blind for out-of-state interests

his helpful offer is no more than a blind

b.

(1) : a person serving as an agent for another who keeps under cover

(2) : one who acts as a decoy or distraction

4. : hand tooling without gilding or coloring

bindings decorated in blind

5.

a. : blindage

b. : a strong frame of uprights and crosspieces used to support a blindage

6. card games

a. : an obligatory opening bet in some forms of draw poker made by the player at the dealer's left before the cards are dealt and often constituting a raise of the ante

b. : the player who makes this bet

c. : widow 3

7. railroading

a. : blind baggage

b. : the platform of a blind baggage immediately behind the tender — usually used in plural

8. slang Britain : a noisy usually drunken party : brawl

IV. adverb

Etymology: blind (I)

: blindly: as

a. : to the point of insensibility

blind drunk

b. : without the aid of visual or other indicators that are usually a source of guidance or judgment

learning to fly blind

c. : recklessly , heedlessly

I'd rather go it blind than not get home at all

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.