blindsided

American  

[blahynd-sahy-did] / ˈblaɪndˌsaɪ dɪd /

adjective

1. Sports. tackled, hit, or attacked by an opponent on the blind side, out of the player’s field of vision.

   The blindsided offensive lineman was taken down by the defensive tackle coming around the other way.

2. attacked critically or taken by surprise where one is vulnerable, uninformed or unprepared, etc..

   Told by a cryptic university official that his keynote address was being canceled “for political reasons,” the blindsided philanthropist was left searching for answers.

3. (of such an attack, tackle, etc.) delivered from the blind side, unexpectedly, or in a way that exposes or takes advantage of a vulnerability.

   A staff meeting is no place for a blindsided assault on an administrator.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of blindside.

Etymology

Origin of blindsided

First recorded in 1985–90; blindside + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; blindside + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blindsided

He just couldn't believe that he was blindsided by it.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

If you have a problem with being blindsided by requests for money, I’d cut ties now.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

"I felt so stupid. I trusted and I cared about people that did bad things. I don't ever want to be as blindsided as I was by them not being who they said they were."

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

Two months after Chinese-owned electric-vehicle maker Polestar was forced to exit the U.S. market, the company is telling its American dealers that it was blindsided by the decision.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

“I never thought I’d see the day you’d be blindsided by something on the Current.”

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee