turn a blind eye to

Idioms  

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.

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Example Sentences

“We can’t turn a blind eye to the fact that stablecoins are a new asset class,” board member Christine Botosan said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

But at the same time, the law can’t allow them to turn a blind eye to their children’s problems.

From Slate • Mar. 5, 2026

"As a responsible government, we cannot turn a blind eye to these heartbreaking statistics. These are not just numbers, they represent human lives, the hope of many Ghanaian families and our nation."

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

Ablakwa described the figures as "depressing and frightening," saying Ghana "cannot turn a blind eye to these heartbreaking statistics".

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

At sixteen years old, even Durmstrang felt it could no longer turn a blind eye to the twisted experiments of Gellert Grindelwald, and he was expelled.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling