Blind (�), a. [AS.; akin to D., G., OS., Sw., & Dan. blind, Icel. blindr, Goth. blinds; of uncertain origin.] 1. Destitute of the sense of seeing, either by natural defect or by deprivation; without sight.
He that is strucken blind can not forget
The precious treasure of his eyesight lost.
Shak.
2. Not having the faculty of discernment; destitute of intellectual light; unable or unwilling to understand or judge; as, authors are blind to their own defects.
But hard be hardened, blind be blinded more,
That they may stumble on, and deeper fall.
Milton.
3. Undiscerning; undiscriminating; inconsiderate.
This plan is recommended neither to blind approbation nor to blind reprobation.
Jay.
4. Having such a state or condition as a thing would have to a person who is blind; not well marked or easily discernible; hidden; unseen; concealed; as, a blind path; a blind ditch.
5. Involved; intricate; not easily followed or traced.
The blind mazes of this tangled wood.
Milton.
6. Having no openings for light or passage; as, a blind wall; open only at one end; as, a blind alley; a blind gut.
7. Unintelligible, or not easily intelligible; as, a blind passage in a book; illegible; as, blind writing.
8. (Hort.) Abortive; failing to produce flowers or fruit; as, blind buds; blind flowers.
Blind alley, an alley closed at one end; a cul-de-sac. — Blind axle, an axle which turns but does not communicate motion. Knight. — Blind beetle, one of the insects apt to fly against people, esp. at night. — Blind cat(Zoöl.), a species of catfish (Gronias nigrolabris), nearly destitute of eyes, living in caverns in Pennsylvania. — Blind coal, coal that burns without flame; anthracite coal. Simmonds. — Blind door, Blind window, an imitation of a door or window, without an opening for passage or light. See Blank door or window, under Blank, a. — Blind level(Mining), a level or drainage gallery which has a vertical shaft at each end, and acts as an inverted siphon. Knight. — Blind nettle(Bot.), dead nettle. See Dead nettle, under Dead. — Blind shell(Gunnery), a shell containing no charge, or one that does not explode. — Blind side, the side which is most easily assailed; a weak or unguarded side; the side on which one is least able or disposed to see danger. Swift. — Blind snake(Zoöl.), a small, harmless, burrowing snake, of the family Typhlopidæ, with rudimentary eyes. — Blind spot(Anat.), the point in the retina of the eye where the optic nerve enters, and which is insensible to light. — Blind tooling, in bookbinding and leather work, the indented impression of heated tools, without gilding; — called also blank tooling, and blind blocking. — Blind wall, a wall without an opening; a blank wall.