blindfold

American  

[blahynd-fohld] / ˈblaɪndˌfoʊld /

verb (used with object)

• blindfolds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• blindfolded,
  past participle,  past
• blindfolding
  present participle

1. to prevent or occlude sight by covering (the eyes) with a cloth, bandage, or the like; cover the eyes of.

2. to impair the awareness or clear thinking of.

   Don't let their hospitality blindfold you to the true purpose of their invitation.

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noun

• blindfolds
  plural

1. a cloth or bandage put before the eyes to prevent seeing.

adjective

1. with the eyes covered.

   a blindfold test.

2. rash; unthinking.

   a blindfold denunciation before knowing the facts.

blindfold British  

/ ˈblaɪndˌfəʊld /

verb

1. to prevent (a person or animal) from seeing by covering (the eyes)

2. to prevent from perceiving or understanding

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noun

1. a piece of cloth, bandage, etc, used to cover the eyes

2. any interference to sight

adjective

1. having the eyes covered with a cloth or bandage

2. chess not seeing the board and pieces

3. rash; inconsiderate

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unblindfolded
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• blindfolds
  plural

Participles

• blindfolding
  present
• blindfolded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• blindfold
  simple
• blindfolds
  simple
• have blindfolded
  perfect
• has blindfolded
  perfect
• am blindfolding
  progressive
• are blindfolding
  progressive
• is blindfolding
  progressive
• have been blindfolding
  perfect progressive
• has been blindfolding
  perfect progressive

Past

• blindfolded
  simple
• had blindfolded
  perfect
• was blindfolding
  progressive
• were blindfolding
  progressive
• had been blindfolding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will blindfold
  simple
• will have blindfolded
  perfect
• will be blindfolding
  progressive
• will have been blindfolding
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of blindfold

1520–30; alteration, by association with fold ¹, of blindfell to cover the eyes, strike blind, Middle English blindfellen; see blind, fell ²

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Explanation

A blindfold is a strip of fabric that's tied across your eyes so you can't see. At a birthday party, you might wear a blindfold and attempt to pin a paper tail on a picture of a donkey. A bank robber might blindfold a hostage, and a kindergarten teacher might also tie a blindfold on the birthday boy during a party game. In both cases, the blindfold makes the person unable to see what's going on. The earliest, 14th century version of the word was blindfelled, the past participle of blindfellan, "cover the eyes," from the Old English blindfellian, "to strike blind."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blindfold blindfolds blindfolded blindfolding

He was too scared to take off his blindfold and remove any shield pieces from the faithfuls, leaving the dirty work - and all the risk - to fellow traitors Maya Jama and King Kenny.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

The host handed me a blindfold and Bose noise-canceling headphones, playing the hypnotic sounds of a space drum with birds chirping in the distance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026

One woman I interviewed remembered that while she was blindfolded, she was able to peek under her blindfold and see a tile pattern on the floor.

From Slate ● Feb. 17, 2026

I opted to swap the blindfold for a blanket covering my TV, which was better, but I cracked the code by the end of this episode.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2025

Now here she was, nine months later, with the blindfold strapped around her eyes.

From "Son" by Lois Lowry

They are required to wear blindfolds for fairness.

From Barron's ● Nov. 22, 2025

But can they be sure, even without their blindfolds?

From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2025

The far easier solution is for them to take off their blindfolds and see the full scale of the monstrosity for what it is.

From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2025

Competitors wear blindfolds and have to rely on audio indications from their guide, who stands near the sand.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2024

And so I slipped the keys within my waistcoat pocket and returned to the house to find blindfolds for the guests.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

In 2011, he was a contestant for China's Got Talent - clips posted online showed him singing onstage blindfolded.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Dashboard designers need to test new controls by using them blindfolded to simulate minimum distractibility for drivers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

Down: It’s like playing the piano with the foot pedal, blindfolded.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026

The mother of the motorist who found the children told Portuguese media that one of the boys said they had been blindfolded and told to look for a hidden toy.

From Barron's ● May 23, 2026

If you were blindfolded and taken from one to the other, you probably wouldn’t even know that you’d changed locations.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah

I started by blindfolding myself and quickly realized that made my notes incoherent.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2025

Japan has accused Russia's security services of blindfolding and restraining one of its diplomats in the eastern city of Vladivostok.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2022

And this idea of essentially blindfolding ourselves and pretending like the justice system is the one place in this country where race has no influence whatsoever, where gender and bias mean nothing, that's preposterous.

From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2022

Evidence in the blindfolding trial has included phone chat messages exchanged by several Carabinieri.

From Fox News ● Feb. 10, 2022

The blindfolding, the walk to the secret entrance, the exhausting climb up countless steps—all of it seemed to pass in one excruciating instant.

From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart

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