I. blind 1 S2 W3 /blaɪnd/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Language: Old English ]
1 . UNABLE TO SEE
a) unable to see ⇨ colour-blind , visually impaired , handicapped :
a school for blind children
the needs of blind people
totally/completely/almost/partially blind
She’s almost blind in her right eye.
He was slowly going blind (=becoming blind) .
Beverley was born blind.
b) the blind [plural] people who are unable to see:
talking books for the blind
c) as blind as a bat unable to see well – used humorously:
I’m as blind as a bat without my glasses.
d) blind with tears/rage/pain etc unable to see because of tears, pain, or a strong emotion ⇨ blindly :
She screamed at him, her eyes blind with tears.
2 . be blind to something to completely fail to notice or realize something ⇨ blindly :
International companies are all too often blind to local needs.
He was totally blind to the faults of his children.
3 . turn a blind eye (to something) to deliberately ignore something that you know should not be happening:
Teachers were turning a blind eye to smoking in school.
4 . not take/pay a blind bit of notice British English informal to completely ignore what someone does or says, especially in a way that is annoying:
He never pays a blind bit of notice to what his staff tell him.
5 . not make a blind bit of difference British English informal used to emphasize that whatever someone says or does will not change the situation at all:
Try and talk to her if you want, but I don’t think it’ll make a blind bit of difference.
6 . FEELINGS
a) blind faith/prejudice/obedience etc strong feelings that someone has without thinking about why they have them – used to show disapproval:
Blind faith sent thousands of people to a pointless war.
a story about blind loyalty
b) blind panic/rage strong feelings of fear or anger that you cannot control:
In a moment of blind panic, she had pulled the trigger and shot the man dead.
Blind rage took hold of him.
7 . ROAD blind bend/corner a corner in a road that you cannot see beyond when you are driving
8 . the blind leading the blind used to say that people who do not know much about what they are doing are guiding or advising others who know nothing at all
9 . AIRCRAFT blind flying is when you use only instruments to fly an aircraft because you cannot see through cloud, mist etc
—blindness noun
II. blind 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . to make it difficult for someone to see for a short time:
For a moment, I was blinded by the glare of headlights coming towards me.
The dust choked and blinded him.
Blinded by tears, I walked towards the door.
2 . to make someone lose their good sense or judgment and be unable to see the truth about something:
He should have known better, but he was blinded by his own wants.
blind somebody to something
Children’s bad behaviour should not blind us to their need for love.
His single-minded determination to win the war is blinding him to other dangers.
3 . to permanently destroy someone’s ability to see:
He had been blinded in an explosion.
4 . blind somebody with science to confuse or trick someone by using complicated language
⇨ effing and blinding at ↑ eff (1)
• • •
THESAURUS
■ Unable to see
▪ blind unable to see anything:
She has been blind from birth.
▪ partially-sighted not able to see things very well, although not completely blind:
Good lighting can be very important for partially sighted people.
▪ visually handicapped/impaired completely blind or not able to see very much – used especially in official reports, forms etc:
a special school for visually impaired children
III. blind 3 BrE AmE noun
1 . ( also (window) shade American English ) [countable] a covering, especially one made of cloth, that can be rolled up and down to cover a window inside a building:
The blinds were drawn (=pulled down) to protect the new furniture from the sun.
open/pull down/draw the blinds ⇨ ↑ roller blind , ↑ Venetian blind
2 . [countable] American English a small shelter where you can watch birds or animals without being seen by them SYN hide British English
3 . [singular] a trick or excuse to stop someone from discovering the truth
IV. blind 4 BrE AmE adverb
blind drunk British English informal extremely drunk
⇨ rob somebody blind at ↑ rob (3), ⇨ swear blind at ↑ swear (3)