Word.ws English Dictionary

blind

/ˈblaɪ̯nd/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

General South African/ˈblaːnd/

blind adjective: unable to see, or only partially able to see.

blind: unable to see, or only partially able to see
Image: Donnanz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Adjective

blind (comparative blinder, superlative blindest)

  1. (not comparable) Unable to see, or only partially able to see.
    • Even a blind hen sometimes finds a grain of corn.
    • Braille is a writing system for the blind.
    Synonyms:
    sightless
    Antonyms:
    seeing, sighted
  2. (comparable) Failing to recognize, acknowledge or perceive.
    • The lovers were blind to each other’s faults.
    • Authors are blind to their own defects.
  3. (not comparable) Having little or no visibility.
    • a blind path
    • a blind ditch
  4. (not comparable) Closed at one end; having a dead end; exitless.
    • a blind alley
    • a blind fistula
  5. (not comparable) Having no openings for light or passage; both dark and exitless.
    • a blind wall
    • a blind alley
  6. (not comparable) Able to be fixed without access to one end.
    • a blind rivet
  7. (in-certain-phrases) Smallest or slightest.
    • I shouted, but he didn’t take a blind bit of notice.
    • We pulled and pulled, but it didn't make a blind bit of difference.
  8. (not comparable) Without any prior knowledge.
    • He took a blind guess at which fork in the road would take him to the airport.
    • I went into the meeting totally blind, so I really didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.
  9. (not comparable) Unconditional; without regard to evidence, logic, reality, accidental mistakes, extenuating circumstances, etc.
    • blind deference
    • blind justice
  10. Using blinded study design, wherein information is purposely limited to prevent bias.
    • a blind trial
  11. Unintelligible or illegible.
    • a blind passage in a book; blind writing
  12. not having a well-defined head.
    • There it was, right in the middle of my forehead - the biggest, blindest, reddest pimple I'd ever seen, just hanging there like a limpet mine.1995, Paul Vautin, Turn It Up!, Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia, page 28
  13. Abortive; failing to produce flowers or fruit.
    • blind buds
    • blind flowers
  14. (dated LGBTQ slang) Uncircumcised.

Noun

blind (plural blinds)

  1. A movable covering for a window to keep out light, made of cloth or of narrow slats that can block light or allow it to pass.
    • It is a piece of wood furnished with two parallel rows of plates, folding over each other, so as to resemble, in some degree, the laths of a blind.1847, editorial staff, “Swimming Skate”, in Scientific American, series 1, Volume 3, Issue 9, page 68
    • A blind bearing the monogram G.V.T. is pulled down over the waiting room window as if still in mourning for the passing of the railway.1941 June, “Notes and News: The Derelict Glyn Valley Tramway”, in Railway Magazine, page 279
  2. A destination sign mounted on a public transport vehicle displaying the route destination, number, name and/or via points, etc.
    Synonyms:
    rollsign
  3. A place where people can hide in order to observe wildlife.
    • a duck blind
    • Field biologists use blinds, and so do hunters.
  4. Something to mislead the eye or the understanding, or to conceal some covert deed or design; a subterfuge, deception.
  5. A blindage.
  6. A hiding place.
    • So, when the watchful shepherd, from the blind,
      Wounds with a random shaft the careless hind1697, Virgil, “The Fourth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
  7. (colloquial) The blindside.
  8. (slang) No score.
  9. A forced bet: the small blind or the big blind.
    • The blinds are $10 and $20, and the ante is $1.
  10. A player who is forced to pay such a bet.
    • The blinds immediately folded when I reraised.

Verb

blind (third-person singular simple present blinds, present participle blinding, simple past and past participle blinded or (nonstandard, humorous) blound)

  1. (transitive) To make temporarily or permanently blind.
    • The light was so bright that for a moment he was blinded.
    • Don’t wave that pencil in my face—do you want to blind me?
  2. (informal, obsolete except when paired, especially eff and blind) To curse, swear, use foul language
    • If you’re cast for fatigue by a sergeant unkind,
      Don’t grouse like a woman, nor crack on, nor blind;
      Be handy and civil, and then you will find
      That it’s beer for the young British soldier.1890, Rudyard Kipling, The Young British Soldier
    • I could see the unfortunate man felt his position deeply, and I was surprised that he contented himself with a mere ‘Ouch !’ But I suppose these solid citizens have to learn to curb the tongue. Creates a bad impression, I mean, if they start blinding and stiffing as those more happily placed would...1960, P. G. Wodehouse, “Chapter 4”, in Jeeves in the Offing
  3. To darken; to obscure to the eye or understanding; to conceal.
    • He ſought, but in the dark tempeſtuous Night
      He knew not whither to direct his Sight.
      So whirl the Seas, ſuch Darkneſs blinds the Sky,
      That the black Night receives a deeper Dye.1717, John Dryden, “Book XI. [The Story of Ceyx and Alcyone.]”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 396
    • The state of the controversy between us he endeavored, with all his art, to blind and confound.1676, Edward Stillingfleet, A Defence of the Discourse Concerning the Idolatry Practised in the Church of Rome
  4. To cover with a thin coating of sand and fine gravel, for example a road newly paved, in order that the joints between the stones may be filled.

Adverb

blind (comparative more blind, superlative most blind)

  1. Without seeing; unseeingly.
    • It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind - as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness.1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 196
  2. (colloquial) Absolutely, totally.
    • to swear blind
    • It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind - as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness.1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 195
  3. (three card brag) Without looking at the cards dealt.
  4. (especially, in-compounds) As a pastry case only, without any filling.
    • Blind bake your pie case for fifteen minutes, then add the filling. This will help avoid a “soggy bottom”.
    • If the shell is going to be baked without a filling, “baking the crust blind,” prick the bottom and sides of the crust to allow the steam to escape. Another variation: line the bottom of the crust with parchment paper […]2012, Frank D. Conforti, Food Selection and Preparation: A Laboratory Manual, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 63

Proper noun capitalized: Blind

Blind (plural Blinds)

  1. A surname.

blind meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

blind in Hindi

unable to see
अंधा andhā, नेत्रहीन netrahīn, दृष्टिहीन dŕṣṭihīn
covering for a window
चिक़ ciq
blind person
अंधा andhā, दृष्टिहीन dŕṣṭihīn, नेत्रहीन netrahīn
make temporarily or permanently blind
अंधा करना andhā karnā

blind in Tamil

unable to see
குருடு kuruṭu

blind in Marathi

blind person
आंधळा āndhḷā, आंधळी āndhḷī, आंधळे āndhḷe

blind in Urdu

unable to see
اندھا andhā
More languagesFewer languages
blind in Bengali
অন্ধ ondho
blind in Telugu
గుడ్డి guḍḍi
blind in Malayalam
അന്ധമായ, അന്ധൻ, വിവേകശൂന്യമായ
blind in Kannada
ಕಂಗಳ, ಕಣ್ಣಿಲಿ, ಕುರುಡ, ಕುಚ್ಚ
blind in Punjabi
اَنّھا annhā
blind in Gujarati
આંધળું ā̃dhaḷũ, જાળી jāḷī
blind in Odia
ଅନ୍ଧ andha
blind in Sanskrit
अन्ध andha
blind in Assamese
অন্ধ ondho, কণা kona
blind in Pashto
ړوند ṛund, نابينا nābinã, نګوری ngóray
blind in Tagalog
bulag, persiyana
blind in Arabic
أَعْمَى ʔaʕmā, عَمْيَاء ʕamyāʔ, كَفِيف kafīf, أعمى ʔáʕma
blind in Malay
buta, tunanetra
blind in Indonesian
buta
blind in Persian
کور kur, نابینا nâbinâ, مکفوفالبصر makfuf-ol-basar, پرده کرکره parde kerkere
blind in Thai
ตาบอด dtaa-bɔ̀ɔt, บอด bɔ̀ɔt
blind in Vietnamese
mù, đui mù, đui
blind in Myanmar
ကန်း kan:
Sindhi
انڌو andho
Kashmiri
اۆن on

Examples of blind in a sentence

  • He that is strucken blind cannot forget / The precious treasure of his eyesight lost.c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, &...
  • He was plainly blind, for he tapped before him with a stick, and wore a great green shade over his eyes and nose...1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
  • God knows that I tried / Seeing the bright side / (I’m wide awake) / But I’m not blind anymore2012, Katy Perry, Max Martin, Bonnie McKee, Dr. Luke, Cirkut, “Wide Awake”, in Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection, performed by Katy...
  • The naric-hypophysial canal was blind at both ends, and paired olfactory sacs opened into it, as well as a narrow canal from the front of the gut.1898, Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, page 498:

All 40 example sentences with blind

Synonyms of blind

Antonyms

Forms of blind

Adjective
comparativeblinder
superlativeblindest
alternative form (obsolete)blinde
Noun
pluralblinds
Verb
third-person singular presentblinds
present participleblinding
past participleblinded
pastblinded
past participle (nonstandard, humorous)blound
past (nonstandard, humorous)blound
Adverb
comparativemore blind
superlativemost blind
Proper noun
pluralBlinds

Past tense of blind: blinded

Plural of blind: blinds

Origin of blind

From Middle English blynd, from Old English blind, from Proto-West Germanic *blind, from Proto-Germanic *blindaz. Cognate with Danish, Dutch, German, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish blind, Faroese and Icelandic blindur.

English, German, and Jewish/Yiddish surname, all related to the adjective blind.

Words formed from blind

Phrases with blind

129 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with blind

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about blind

What does blind mean?
Blind means unable to see, or only partially able to see.
What is blind in Hindi?
Blind in Hindi is अंधा (andhā), नेत्रहीन (netrahīn), दृष्टिहीन (dŕṣṭihīn). See Blind meaning in Hindi.
How do you use blind in a sentence?
He that is strucken blind cannot forget / The precious treasure of his eyesight lost.
What part of speech is blind?
Blind can be an adjective, a noun, a verb or an adverb.
How do you pronounce blind?
Blind is pronounced /ˈblaɪ̯nd/.

Words near blind in the dictionary

  1. blinchiki
  2. blinchiks
  3. blinchiky
  4. Blincoe
  5. Blincoes
  6. blind
  7. blind abscess
  8. blind abscesses
  9. blind alley
  10. blind alleys
  11. blind as a bat

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: blind (page history and authors); Blind (page history and authors); blind (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); blind (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); આંધળું (Gujarati) (page history and authors); অন্ধ (Assamese) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-blind.ogg.

Cite this entry: “blind.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/blind. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.