2 VERB If something blights your life or your hopes, it damages and spoils them. If something blights an area, it spoils it and makes it unattractive. □ [V n] An embarrassing blunder nearly blighted his career before it got off the ground. □ [V -ed] …a strategy to redevelop blighted inner-city areas.
3 N‑UNCOUNT Blight is a disease which makes plants dry up and die.
blight|er /bla I tə r / (blighters )
1 N‑COUNT You can refer to someone you do not like as a blighter . [BRIT , INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ He was a nasty little blighter.
2 N‑COUNT You can use blighter as an informal way of referring to someone. [BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ Lucky blighter, thought King.
Blighty /bla I ti/ N‑PROPER Blighty is a way of referring to England. [BRIT , HUMOROUS , OLD-FASHIONED ] □ See you back in Blighty!
bli|mey /bla I mi/ EXCLAM You say blimey when you are surprised by something or feel strongly about it. [BRIT , INFORMAL , FEELINGS ] □ 'We walked all the way to Moseley.'—'Blimey!'
blimp /bl I mp/ (blimps ) N‑COUNT A blimp is the same as an airship .
blind ◆◇◇ /bla I nd/ (blinds , blinding , blinded )
1 ADJ Someone who is blind is unable to see because their eyes are damaged. □ I started helping him run the business when he went blind. ● N‑PLURAL The blind are people who are blind. This use could cause offence. □ He was a teacher of the blind. ● blind|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ Early diagnosis and treatment can usually prevent blindness.
2 VERB If something blinds you, it makes you unable to see, either for a short time or permanently. □ [V n] The sun hit the windscreen, momentarily blinding him.
3 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If you are blind with something such as tears or a bright light, you are unable to see for a short time because of the tears or light. □ [+ with ] Her mother groped for the back of the chair, her eyes blind with tears. ● blind|ly ADV □ Lettie groped blindly for the glass.
4 ADJ If you say that someone is blind to a fact or a situation, you mean that they ignore it or are unaware of it, although you think that they should take notice of it or be aware of it. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ All the time I was blind to your suffering. ● blind|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ …blindness in government policy to the very existence of the unemployed.
5 VERB If something blinds you to the real situation, it prevents you from realizing that it exists or from understanding it properly. □ [V n + to ] He never allowed his love of Australia to blind him to his countrymen's faults.
6 ADJ [usu ADJ n] You can describe someone's beliefs or actions as blind when you think that they seem to take no notice of important facts or behave in an unreasonable way. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ …her blind faith in the wisdom of the Church. □ Lesley yelled at him with blind, hating rage.
7 ADJ [ADJ n] A blind corner is one that you cannot see round because something is blocking your view. □ He tried to overtake three cars on a blind corner and crashed head-on into a lorry.
8 N‑COUNT A blind is a roll of cloth or paper which you can pull down over a window as a covering.
9 → see also blinding , blindly , colour-blind , Venetian blind
10 PHRASE If you say that someone is turning a blind eye to something bad or illegal that is happening, you mean that you think they are pretending not to notice that it is happening so that they will not have to do anything about it. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ Teachers are turning a blind eye to pupils smoking at school, a report reveals today.
bli nd a l|ley (blind alleys ) N‑COUNT If you describe a situation as a blind alley , you mean that progress is not possible or that the situation can have no useful results. □ Ben wanted to go to drama school, which I worried would end up being a blind alley.
bli nd da te (blind dates ) N‑COUNT A blind date is an arrangement made for you to spend a romantic evening with someone you have never met before.
blind|er /bla I ndə r / (blinders ) N‑PLURAL Blinders are the same as blinkers . [AM ]
blind|fold /bla I ndfoʊld/ (blindfolds , blindfolding , blindfolded )
1 N‑COUNT A blindfold is a strip of cloth that is tied over someone's eyes so that they cannot see.
2 VERB If you blindfold someone, you tie a blindfold over their eyes. □ [V n] His abductors blindfolded him and drove him to a flat in southern Beirut. □ [V -ed] The report says prisoners were often kept blindfolded.
3 ADJ [ADJ after v] If someone does something blindfold , they do it while wearing a blindfold. □ The Australian chess grandmaster took on six opponents blindfold and beat five.
4 PHRASE If you say that you can do something blindfold , you are emphasizing that you can do it easily, for example because you have done it many times before. [EMPHASIS ] □ He read the letter again although already he could have recited its contents blindfold.
blind|ing /bla I nd I ŋ/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A blinding light is extremely bright. □ The doctor worked busily beneath the blinding lights of the delivery room.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] You use blinding to emphasize that something is very obvious. [EMPHASIS ] □ I woke up in the middle of the night with a blinding flash of realization. ● blind|ing|ly ADV [ADV adj/adv] □ It is so blindingly obvious that defence must be the responsibility of the state.