Blind Blind transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Blinded ;
present participle & verbal noun Blinding .]
1. To make blind; to deprive of sight or discernment. "To
blind the truth and me."
Tennyson. A blind guide is certainly a great mischief; but a guide that blinds those whom he should lead is . . . a much greater.
South.
2. To deprive partially of vision; to make vision difficult for and painful to; to dazzle. Her beauty all the rest did blind .
P. Fletcher.
3. To darken; to obscure to the eye or understanding; to conceal; to deceive. Such darkness blinds the sky.
Dryden.
The state of the controversy between us he endeavored, with all his art, to blind and confound.
Stillingfleet.
4. To cover with a thin coating of sand and fine gravel; as a road newly paved, in order that the joints between the stones may be filled.
Blind Blind noun 1. Something to hinder sight or keep out light; a screen; a cover; esp. a hinged screen or shutter for a window; a blinder for a horse. 2. Something to mislead the eye or the understanding, or to conceal some covert deed or design; a subterfuge. 3. [ Confer French
blindes , p...., from German
blende , from
blenden to blind, from
blind blind.]
(Mil.) A blindage. See Blindage . 4. A halting place. [ Obsolete]
Dryden.
Blind reader Blind reader A post-office clerk whose duty is to decipher obscure addresses.
Blind, Blinde Blind, Blinde noun See Blende .
Blindage Blind"age noun [ Confer French
blindage .]
(Mil.) A cover or protection for an advanced trench or approach, formed of fascines and earth supported by a framework.
Blinder Blind"er noun 1. One who, or that which, blinds. 2. (Saddlery) One of the leather screens on a bridle, to hinder a horse from seeing objects at the side; a blinker.
Blindfish Blind"fish` noun A small fish ( Amblyopsis spelæus ) destitute of eyes, found in the waters of the Mammoth Cave, in Kentucky. Related fishes from other caves take the same name.
Blindfold Blind"fold` transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Blindfolded ;
present participle & verbal noun Blindfolding .] [ Middle English
blindfolden ,
blindfelden ,
blindfellen ; Anglo-Saxon
blind blind + probably
fellan ,
fyllan , to fell, strike down.]
To cover the eyes of, as with a bandage; to hinder from seeing. And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face.
Luke xxii. 64.
Blindfold Blind"fold` adjective Having the eyes covered; blinded; having the mental eye darkened. Hence: Heedless; reckless; as, blindfold zeal; blindfold fury. Fate's blindfold reign the atheist loudly owns.
Dryden.
Blinding Blind"ing adjective Making blind or as if blind; depriving of sight or of understanding; obscuring; as, blinding tears; blinding snow.
Blinding Blind"ing noun A thin coating of sand and fine gravel over a newly paved road. See Blind , transitive verb , 4.
Blindly Blind"ly adverb Without sight, discernment, or understanding; without thought, investigation, knowledge, or purpose of one's own. By his imperious mistress blindly led.
Dryden.
Blindman's buff Blind"man's buff" [ See
Buff a buffet.]
A play in which one person is blindfolded, and tries to catch some one of the company and tell who it is. Surely he fancies I play at blindman's buff with him, for he thinks I never have my eyes open.
Stillingfleet.
Blindman's holiday Blind`man's hol"i·day The time between daylight and candle light. [ Humorous]
Blindness Blind"ness noun State or condition of being blind, literally or figuratively. Darwin. Color blindness ,
inability to distinguish certain color. See Daltonism .
Blindstory Blind"sto`ry noun (Architecture) The triforium as opposed to the clearstory.
Blindworm Blind"worm` noun (Zoology) A small, burrowing, snakelike, limbless lizard ( Anguis fragilis ), with minute eyes, popularly believed to be blind; the slowworm; -- formerly a name for the adder. Newts and blindworms do no wrong.
Shak.
Blink Blink intransitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Blinked ;
present participle & verbal noun Blinking .] [ Middle English
blenken ; akin to dan.
blinke , Swedish
blinka , German
blinken to shine, glance, wink, twinkle, D. blinken to shine; and probably to Dutch
blikken to glance, twinkle, German
blicken to look, glance, Anglo-Saxon blī
can to shine, English
bleak . √98. See
Bleak ; confer 1st
Blench .]
1. To wink; to twinkle with, or as with, the eye. One eye was blinking , and one leg was lame.
Pope
2. To see with the eyes half shut, or indistinctly and with frequent winking, as a person with weak eyes. Show me thy chink, to blink through with mine eyne.
Shak.
3. To shine, esp. with intermittent light; to twinkle; to flicker; to glimmer, as a lamp. The dew was falling fast, the stars began to blink .
Wordsworth.
The sun blinked fair on pool and stream .
Sir W. Scott.
4. To turn slightly sour, as beer, mild, etc.
Blink Blink transitive verb 1. To shut out of sight; to avoid, or purposely evade; to shirk; as, to blink the question. 2. To trick; to deceive. [ Scot.]
Jamieson.
Blink Blink noun [ Middle English
blink . See
Blink ,
intransitive verb ]
1. A glimpse or glance. This is the first blink that ever I had of him.
Bp. Hall.
2. Gleam; glimmer; sparkle. Sir W. Scott. Not a blink of light was there.
Wordsworth.
3. (Nautical) The dazzling whiteness about the horizon caused by the reflection of light from fields of ice at sea; ice blink. 4. plural [ Confer
Blencher .]
(Sporting) Boughs cast where deer are to pass, to turn or check them. [ Prov. Eng.]
Blink beer Blink" beer` Beer kept unbroached until it is sharp. Crabb.
Blink-eyed Blink"-eyed` adjective Habitually winking. Marlowe.
Blinkard Blink"ard noun [
Blind +
- ard .]
1. One who blinks with, or as with, weak eyes. Among the blind the one-eyed blinkard reigns.
Marvell.
2. That which twinkles or glances, as a dim star, which appears and disappears. Hakewill.
Blinker Blink"er noun 1. One who, or that which, blinks. 2. A blinder for horses; a flap of leather on a horse's bridle to prevent him from seeing objects as his side hence, whatever obstructs sight or discernment. Nor bigots who but one way see,
through blinkers of authority.
M. Green.
3. plural A kind of goggles, used to protect the eyes form glare, etc.
Blirt Blirt noun (Nautical) A gust of wind and rain. Ham. Nav. Encyc.
Bliss Bliss (blĭs)
noun ;
plural Blisses (blĭs"ĕz). [ Middle English
blis ,
blisse , Anglo-Saxon
blis ,
blīðs , from
blīðe blithe. See
Blithe .]
Orig., blithesomeness; gladness; now, the highest degree of happiness; blessedness; exalted felicity; heavenly joy. An then at last our bliss
Full and perfect is.
Milton.
Syn. -- Blessedness; felicity; beatitude; happiness; joy; enjoyment. See
Happiness .
Blissful Bliss"ful adjective Full of, characterized by, or causing, joy and felicity; happy in the highest degree. "
Blissful solitude."
Milton. --
Bliss"ful*ly ,
adverb --
Bliss"ful*ness ,
noun
Blissless Bliss"less adjective Destitute of bliss. Sir P. Sidney.
Blissom Blis"som intransitive verb [ For
blithesome : but confer also Icelandic
bl...sma of a goat at heat.]
To be lustful; to be lascivious. [ Obsolete]
Blissom Blis"som adjective Lascivious; also, in heat; -- said of ewes.
Blister Blis"ter noun [ Middle English ; akin to OD.
bluyster , from the same root as
blast ,
bladder ,
blow . See
Blow to eject wind.]
1. A vesicle of the skin, containing watery matter or serum, whether occasioned by a burn or other injury, or by a vesicatory; a collection of serous fluid causing a bladderlike elevation of the cuticle. And painful blisters swelled my tender hands.
Grainger.
2. Any elevation made by the separation of the film or skin, as on plants; or by the swelling of the substance at the surface, as on steel. 3. A vesicatory; a plaster of Spanish flies, or other matter, applied to raise a blister. Dunglison. Blister beetle ,
a beetle used to raise blisters, esp. the Lytta (or Cantharis) vesicatoria , called Cantharis or Spanish fly by druggists. See Cantharis . --
Blister fly ,
a blister beetle. --
Blister plaster ,
a plaster designed to raise a blister; -- usually made of Spanish flies. --
Blister steel ,
crude steel formed from wrought iron by cementation; - - so called because of its blistered surface. Called also blistered steel . --
Blood blister .
See under Blood .
Blister Blis"ter intransitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Blistered ;
present participle & verbal noun Blistering .]
To be affected with a blister or blisters; to have a blister form on. Let my tongue blister .
Shak.
Blister Blis"ter transitive verb 1. To raise a blister or blisters upon. My hands were blistered .
Franklin.
2. To give pain to, or to injure, as if by a blister. This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongue.
Shak.
Blistery Blis"ter·y adjective Full of blisters. Hooker.
Blite Blite (blīt)
noun [ Latin
blitum , Greek
bli`ton .]
(Botany) A genus of herbs ( Blitum >) with a fleshy calyx. Blitum capitatum is the strawberry blite .
Blithe Blithe (blī&thlig;)
adjective [ Anglo-Saxon
blīðe blithe, kind; akin to Goth.
bleiþs kind, Icelandic
blīðr mild, gentle, Dan. & Swedish
blid gentle, Dutch
blijd blithe, Old High German
blīdi kind, blithe.]
Gay; merry; sprightly; joyous; glad; cheerful; as, a blithe spirit. The blithe sounds of festal music.
Prescott.
A daughter fair,
So buxom, blithe , and debonair.
Milton.
Blitheful Blithe"ful (blī&thlig;"ful)
adjective Gay; full of gayety; joyous.
Blithely Blithe"ly adverb In a blithe manner.
Blitheness Blithe"ness noun The state of being blithe. Chaucer.
Blithesome Blithe"some (-sŭm)
adjective Cheery; gay; merry. The blithesome sounds of wassail gay.
Sir W. Scott.
--
Blithe"some*ly ,
adverb --
Blithe"some*ness ,
noun
Blive Blive (blīv)
adverb [ A contraction of
Belive .]
Quickly; forthwith. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Blizzard Bliz"zard (blĭz"zẽrd)
noun [ Confer
Blaze to flash. Formerly, in local use, a rattling volley; confer "to
blaze away" to fire away.]
A gale of piercingly cold wind, usually accompanied with fine and blinding snow; a furious blast. [ U. S.]
Bloat Bloat (blōt)
transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Bloated ;
present participle & verbal noun Bloating .] [ Confer Icelandic
blotna to become soft,
blautr soft, wet, Swedish
blöt soft,
blöta to soak; akin to German
bloss bare, and Anglo-Saxon
bleát wretched; or perhaps from root of Eng. 5th
blow . Confer
Blote .]
1. To make turgid, as with water or air; to cause a swelling of the surface of, from effusion of serum in the cellular tissue, producing a morbid enlargement, often accompanied with softness. 2. To inflate; to puff up; to make vain. Dryden.
Bloat Bloat intransitive verb To grow turgid as by effusion of liquid in the cellular tissue; to puff out; to swell. Arbuthnot.
Bloat Bloat adjective Bloated. [ R.]
Shak.
Bloat Bloat noun A term of contempt for a worthless, dissipated fellow. [ Slang]
Bloat Bloat transitive verb To dry (herrings) in smoke. See Blote .
Bloated Bloat"ed (blōt"ĕd)
p. adjective Distended beyond the natural or usual size, as by the presence of water, serum, etc.; turgid; swollen; as, a bloated face. Also, puffed up with pride; pompous.
Bloatedness Bloat"ed·ness noun The state of being bloated.
Bloater Bloat"er (-ẽr)
noun [ See
Bloat ,
Blote .]
The common herring, esp. when of large size, smoked, and half dried; -- called also bloat herring .
Use the search box below if you want to search in Websters only, use the search box at the right to search all of Enyclo.
