■ adjective
1》 unable to see because of injury, disease, or a congenital condition.
2》 done without being able to see or without certain information.
↘(of flying) using instruments only.
3》 lacking perception, judgement, or reason: they were ~ to his potential.
4》 concealed, closed, or blocked off.
↘(of a corner or bend) impossible to see round.
5》 (of a plant) without buds, eyes, or terminal flowers.
6》 [with negative ] informal the slightest: it didn't do a ~ bit of good.
■ verb
1》 cause (someone) to be unable to see.
2》 deprive of understanding or judgement.
↘( ~ someone with ) confuse or overawe someone with (something they do not understand).
3》 Brit. informal, dated move very fast and dangerously.
■ noun
1》 a screen for a window, especially one on a roller or made of slats.
↘ Brit. an awning over a shop window.
2》 something designed to conceal one's real intentions.
3》 N. Amer. a hide, as used by hunters.
4》 Brit. informal, dated a heavy drinking bout.
■ adverb without being able to see clearly.
Phrases
bake something ~ bake a pastry case without a filling.
( as ) ~ as a bat informal having very bad eyesight.
~ drunk informal extremely drunk.
turn a ~ eye pretend not to notice. [said to be in allusion to Nelson, who lifted a telescope to his ~ eye at the Battle of Copenhagen (1801), thus not seeing the signal to ‘discontinue the action’.]
Derivatives
~ly adverb
~ness noun
Origin
OE, of Gmc origin.