turn a blind eye to

1. Deliberately overlook, ignore, as in She decided to turn a blind eye to her roommate's goings-on. This expression is believed to come from the siege of Copenhagen (1801), in which Lord Horatio Nelson, second in command of the English fleet, was ordered to withdraw but pretended not to see the flagship's signals to do so by putting his glass to the eye that had been blinded in an earlier battle. His attack led to a major victory. Also see turn a deaf ear.

Example Sentences

He added that he believed the government would not "turn a blind eye to the current illegal and unconstitutional situation".

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And would Uefa turn a blind eye to a stadium return after such a long jaunt?

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In a time when the threat from Islamic extremism remains global and decentralized, we can no longer afford to turn a blind eye to the architects of the movement.

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Our country was rightfully angry, and it was impossible to turn a blind eye to the suffering and violence that protestors incurred at the hands of the police for simply exercising their First Amendment rights.

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Mr Newham said that with Gen Mkhwanazi seen as the "cop's cop", the public was willing to turn a blind eye to his officers' alleged abuses because "they want to have a hero in the police".

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