— blindingly , adv. — blindness , n.
/bluynd/ , adj., blinder, blindest , v., n., adv.
adj.
1. unable to see; lacking the sense of sight; sightless: a blind man.
2. unwilling or unable to perceive or understand: They were blind to their children's faults. He was blind to all arguments.
3. not characterized or determined by reason or control: blind tenacity; blind chance.
4. not having or based on reason or intelligence; absolute and unquestioning: She had blind faith in his fidelity.
5. lacking all consciousness or awareness: a blind stupor.
6. drunk.
7. hard to see or understand: blind reasoning.
8. hidden from immediate view, esp. from oncoming motorists: a blind corner.
9. of concealed or undisclosed identity; sponsored anonymously: a blind ad signed only with a box number.
10. having no outlets; closed at one end: a blind passage; a blind mountain pass.
11. Archit. (of an archway, arcade, etc.) having no windows, passageways, or the like.
12. dense enough to form a screen: a blind hedge of privet.
13. done without seeing; by instruments alone: blind flying.
14. made without some prior knowledge: a blind purchase; a blind lead in a card game.
15. of or pertaining to an experimental design that prevents investigators or subjects from knowing the hypotheses or conditions being tested.
16. of, pertaining to, or for blind persons.
17. Bookbinding. (of a design, title, or the like) impressed into the cover or spine of a book by a die without ink or foil.
18. Cookery. (of pastry shells) baked or fried without the filling.
19. (of a rivet or other fastener) made so that the end inserted, though inaccessible, can be headed or spread.
v.t.
20. to make sightless permanently, temporarily, or momentarily, as by injuring, dazzling, bandaging the eyes, etc.: The explosion blinded him. We were blinded by the bright lights.
21. to make obscure or dark: The room was blinded by heavy curtains.
22. to deprive of discernment, reason, or judgment: a resentment that blinds his good sense.
23. to outshine; eclipse: a radiance that doth blind the sun.
n.
24. something that obstructs vision, as a blinker for a horse.
25. a window covering having horizontal or vertical slats that can be drawn out of the way, often with the angle of the slats adjustable to admit varying amounts of light.
26. See Venetian blind .
27. Chiefly Midland U.S. and Brit. See window shade .
28. a lightly built structure of brush or other growths, esp. one in which hunters conceal themselves.
29. an activity, organization, or the like for concealing or masking action or purpose; subterfuge: The store was just a blind for their gambling operation.
30. a decoy.
31. Slang. a bout of excessive drinking; drunken spree.
32. Poker. a compulsory bet made without prior knowledge of one's hand.
33. ( used with a pl. v. ) persons who lack the sense of sight (usually preceded by the ): The blind are said to have an acute sense of hearing.
adv.
34. into a stupor; to the degree at which consciousness is lost: He drank himself blind.
35. without the ability to see clearly; lacking visibility; blindly: They were driving blind through the snowstorm.
36. without guidance or forethought: They were working blind and couldn't anticipate the effects of their actions.
37. to an extreme or absolute degree; completely: The confidence men cheated her blind.
[ bef. 1000; (adj.) ME blind, OE; c. Goth blinds, ON blindr, G, D blind ( blindaz, perh. akin to BLEND; original sense uncert.); (v.) ME blinden, deriv. of the adj. ]
Syn. 1. BLIND, STONE-BLIND, PURBLIND mean unable to see. BLIND means unable to see with the physical eyes. STONE-BLIND emphasizes complete blindness. PURBLIND refers to weakened vision, literally or figuratively. 4. irrational, uncritical, rash, thoughtless, unreasoning. 8. concealed. 25. See curtain. 28. hiding place, ambush.
Ant. 1. seeing. 2. receptive. 4. rational.
Regional Variation. 27. See window shade .