blindness

American  

[blahynd-nis] / ˈblaɪnd nɪs /

noun

1. the inability to see; the condition of having severely impaired or absolutely no sense of sight.

   Patients are first asked if their blindness is congenital or the result of injury or disease.

2. an unwillingness or inability to perceive or understand; lack of judgment; ignorance.

   Your blindness to this behavior has allowed his anxiety to worsen.

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blindness Scientific  

/ blīnd′nĭs /

1. A lack or impairment of vision in which maximal visual acuity after correction by refractive lenses is one-tenth normal vision or less in the better eye. Blindness can be genetic but is usually acquired as a result of injury, cataracts, or diseases such as glaucoma or diabetes. In Asia and Africa, trachoma is a common infectious cause of blindness.

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Etymology

Origin of blindness

First recorded before 1000; blind ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Example Sentences

Tatel is legally blind and seemingly feared that the justice would act with factual blindness.

From Slate • May 7, 2026

She and Basil Petrou developed a financial instrument designed to attract investors to the kind of promising, early-stage medical research on blindness that traditionally fails to gather enough funding to proceed to FDA trials.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

Over time, it can lead to serious complications, including nerve damage, blindness, coma, and even death.

From Science Daily • Mar. 2, 2026

Mange is a common issue for foxes, especially during winter, with many foxes dying or being left with serious injuries such as blindness.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

Olanna no longer remembered the hours of waiting for Odenigbo to come back, but she did remember the sensation of blindness, of cold sheaths being drawn over her eyes.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Related Words

• defect
• myopia