double-blind

American  

[duhb-uhl-blahynd] / ˈdʌb əlˈblaɪnd /

adjective

1. of or relating to an experiment or clinical trial in which neither the subjects nor the researchers know which subjects are receiving the active medication, treatment, etc., and which are not: a technique for eliminating subjective bias from the test results.

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double-blind British  

adjective

1. of or relating to an experiment to discover reactions to certain commodities, drugs, etc, in which neither the experimenters nor the subjects know the particulars of the test items during the experiments Compare single-blind

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Etymology

Origin of double-blind

First recorded in 1935–40

Compare meaning

How does double-blind compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• single-blind vs. double-blind

Example Sentences

In minutes from the FDA’s Type A meeting—a meeting to discuss stalled development programs—the agency recommended uniQure conduct a further randomized, double-blind, sham surgery-controlled study, the company said.

From Barron's • Mar. 2, 2026

Dr. Prasad seems to believe the cost for drugs that receive accelerated approval exceed their benefits and that nothing short of large double-blind randomized controlled trials should be sufficient to prove a medicine’s efficacy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026

Today double-blind placebo-controlled trials are the gold standard in the FDA approval process: Participants are given either a drug or something that looks like one.

From Slate • Jan. 30, 2026

The study is double-blind, meaning neither the patients nor the researchers know which treatment each participant receives until the trial ends.

From Science Daily • Jan. 18, 2026

The trial is a double-blind study, so no one knows who is on the drug and who is taking the placebo, with researchers monitoring changes in iron levels in all participants.

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2025