blindfold
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to prevent or occlude sight by covering (the eyes) with a cloth, bandage, or the like; cover the eyes of.
-
to impair the awareness or clear thinking of.
Don't let their hospitality blindfold you to the true purpose of their invitation.
noun
adjective
-
with the eyes covered.
a blindfold test.
-
rash; unthinking.
a blindfold denunciation before knowing the facts.
verb
-
to prevent (a person or animal) from seeing by covering (the eyes)
-
to prevent from perceiving or understanding
noun
-
a piece of cloth, bandage, etc, used to cover the eyes
-
any interference to sight
adjective
-
having the eyes covered with a cloth or bandage
-
chess not seeing the board and pieces
-
rash; inconsiderate
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
blindfoldsimple
-
blindfoldssimple
-
have blindfoldedperfect
-
has blindfoldedperfect
-
am blindfoldingprogressive
-
are blindfoldingprogressive
-
is blindfoldingprogressive
-
have been blindfoldingperfect progressive
-
has been blindfoldingperfect progressive
Past
-
blindfoldedsimple
-
had blindfoldedperfect
-
was blindfoldingprogressive
-
were blindfoldingprogressive
-
had been blindfoldingperfect progressive
Future
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
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."
Vocabulary lists containing blindfold
Unit 1: Telling Details
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"How to Train a Guide Dog" and "The Wonder Dog"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
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 in military police custody pending an investigation, Abu Khalid shuffled into the room, blinking and stretching as his blindfold and handcuffs were removed.
From BBC ● May 4, 2025
After Bux successfully read from a book with the bandaging on, a doctor redid his blindfold.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2023
“For the rest of her life. Except once, when she removed the blindfold for her son.”
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
They are required to wear blindfolds for fairness.
From Barron's ● Nov. 22, 2025
The teaser also shows the celebrities taking part in their first mission, and sitting at the round table for the first time, wearing their blindfolds.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 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
All it took were Hollywood-trained animals, a set of enormous blindfolds and a willingness to — carefully — nudge one of the planet’s largest land mammals ever so slightly off balance.
From New York Times ● Sep. 26, 2023
Then S.Q. was removing their blindfolds and pressing the intercom button.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
“The Corrections” limited series comes 25 years after Franzen published his National Book Award-winning novel, which he famously blindfolded himself to finish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2026
Her output features a mix of her playing online chess, educational content and in-person challenges such as playing blindfolded, where players visualise the board in their head.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 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
This reporter and a photographer were blindfolded and driven for about 45 minutes before being taken into one facility doing work on the Flamingo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 11, 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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
