blindness

/ˈblaɪndnəs/

//ˈblaɪndnəs// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"blindness" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“blindness” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,183. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,183
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The condition of being blind; unable to see.

Corpus desk

Index EN-blindness · blindness · English

blindness · rank #16,183 · 13 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #16,183
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH blending

Nearest frequency peer: blending (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “blindness”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “blindness” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

blindness vs blinders
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for blindness
PropertyValue
Headwordblindness
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈblaɪndnəs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#16,183
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “blindness”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).blindnesslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “blending” (#16,182), “bragging” (#16,184), “blackmail” (#16,181). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “blindness” is #16,183. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around blindness (IPA /ˈblaɪndnəs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #16,183 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for blindness, with forms such as "bblindness", "bilndness", and "blidnness". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "blinders", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English blyndnes, blyndnesse, from Old English blindnes (“blindness”), equivalent to blind + -ness. The correct English form is blindness, spelled B-L-I-N-D-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The condition of being blind; unable to see.
  2. 2
    Want of intellectual or moral discernment; mental darkness; ignorance, heedlessness.
  3. 3
    concealment

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how blindness appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. DHPG […] is effective in fighting Cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common virus which, for PWAs, can cause CMV retinitis — a condition which can lead to blindness within weeks.
  2. A tormenting hunger shuddered through her and she wished she could put aside the power. Oh, to be as others were — blind in that safest of all blindnesses, living only the hypnoidal half-life into which birth-shock precipitated most humans.

Etymology

From Middle English blyndnes, blyndnesse, from Old English blindnes (“blindness”), equivalent to blind + -ness.

Synonyms

ablepsyblindhoodcecitysightlessness

This word in other languages

ceguera(Español)cécité(Français)Blindheit(Deutsch)cegueira(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bblindness
  • bilndness
  • blidnness
  • blinddness
  • blindenss
  • blindnes
  • blindnness
  • blindnses
  • blinndess
  • blinndness
  • bllindness
  • blnidness
  • lbindness

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of blindness - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

bblindness1bilndness2blidnness2blinddness1blindenss2blindnes1blindnness1blindnses2
Edit distance from "blindness"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "blindness"?
"blindness" is spelled B-L-I-N-D-N-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈblaɪndnəs/.
What does "blindness" mean?
As a noun, "blindness" means: The condition of being blind; unable to see.
What words are commonly confused with "blindness"?
"blindness" is commonly confused with "blinders". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "blindness"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "blindness" is /ˈblaɪndnəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "blindness"?
From Middle English blyndnes, blyndnesse, from Old English blindnes (“blindness”), equivalent to blind + -ness. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "blindness", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

blackmail#16,181cafeteria#16,188Caucasian#16,194admiralty#16,171

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

blending13 variantsburglary13 variantstentative13 variantssynagogue13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list