blindly

USAGE SUMMARY

The word "blindly" is an acceptable and commonly used term in written English.
It is used to describe when someone does something without thinking or considering the consequences. For example, "He had blindly followed her instructions without considering the potential risks."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

But in a scene that felt more Office Space than Black Hawk Down, he rose after a moment, stuck his rifle around the corner and fired blindly at an enemy unseen.

The Guardian - Opinion

That seems to be the real warning to parents here, that an interest in current affairs will drain your child of joy and lead them blindly into a life of conservativism.

The Guardian

And it certainly isn't positioning monogamous people as more blindly traditional or less emotionally evolved than you.

The Guardian - Lifestyle

"The community will be shocked to hear that our government is blindly relying on port developers' claims and letting them dump dredge spoil offshore in the reef's waters".

The Guardian

"We didn't go into it blindly," says the charity's founder and chief Kris Hallenga of the association.

The Guardian

When Murphy knew the game was up for his leadership of Scottish Labour, his bizarre and injudicious outburst against Len McCluskey, general secretary of the Unite union, was indicative of a party that has lost its way and has begun tilting blindly at the wrong enemies.

The Guardian - Opinion

This blindly defiant stance – that the only thing worse than being tweeted about is not being tweeted about – comes to mind this week with Miley Cyrus's Twitter address to her "Smilers", in which she declared: "My VMA performance had 306,000 tweets per minute.

The Guardian - Lifestyle

It does upset me when people blindly repost pictures of mistreated animals supposedly undergoing animal testing.

The Guardian - Lifestyle

"However, it is an unfortunate reality that building union officials often hide behind employee conduct and the actions of the FWBC will bring home to workers the consequences of blindly following union demands," said Richard Calver, acting chief executive of Master Builders.

The Guardian

The statistics are clear – we can't keep blindly assuming that every new sexual partner is clean.

The Guardian

"We need to stop believing blindly in the governors of the eurozone and start preparing plan B, a return to the Slovak crown".

The Guardian - Business

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "blindly", ensure the context clarifies whether you mean a literal lack of sight or a figurative lack of awareness or judgment. This will avoid ambiguity and strengthen your writing.

Common error

Avoid using "blindly" in situations where the lack of physical sight is not relevant or clearly implied. Overusing it can weaken the impact of your writing. Instead, consider alternatives like "naively" or "unwittingly" when referring to a lack of awareness.

Linguistic Context

The primary grammatical function of "blindly" is as an adverb, modifying verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs to describe the manner in which an action is performed. As noted by Ludwig, it indicates an action done without sight or awareness, like in "fired "blindly" at an enemy unseen".

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

100%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Science

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "blindly" functions as an adverb used to describe actions performed without sight, awareness, or careful consideration. It's grammatically correct and, as Ludwig AI confirms, commonly used, particularly in news and media contexts. While versatile, it's important to ensure clarity regarding whether the intended meaning is literal or figurative. Consider alternatives such as "unquestioningly" or "recklessly" to fine-tune your writing and avoid ambiguity. By understanding these nuances, you can effectively use "blindly" to add depth and precision to your writing.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

unquestioningly

Implies acceptance without doubt or questioning, differing from "blindly" which suggests lack of awareness.

without thinking

Focuses on the absence of thought before acting, whereas "blindly" can also mean without sight.

unwittingly

Highlights the lack of awareness of the consequences, unlike "blindly" which emphasizes the lack of foresight or sight.

without consideration

Emphasizes the absence of careful thought, while "blindly" can also refer to acting without visual perception.

recklessly

Implies a disregard for danger or consequences, adding a sense of risk not always present in "blindly".

indiscriminately

Suggests a lack of distinction or selection, whereas "blindly" emphasizes lack of awareness or sight.

naively

Implies a lack of experience or knowledge, differing from "blindly" which suggests a lack of perception or thought.

unseeingly

Directly relates to not seeing, making it closer to one specific sense of "blindly" but less versatile.

uncritically

Highlights the absence of critical evaluation, differing from "blindly" which can mean without sight or awareness.

automatically

Suggests acting without conscious thought due to habit or programming, a different nuance from "blindly".

FAQs

How to use "blindly" in a sentence?

You can use "blindly" to describe actions done without sight, such as "He walked "blindly" into the room after the lights went out". It can also describe actions done without awareness or consideration, like "They "blindly" followed the company's directives without questioning them".

What can I say instead of "blindly"?

You can use alternatives like "unquestioningly", "without thinking", or "recklessly" depending on the specific context you want to convey.

Which is correct, "blindly follow" or "blindly following"?

"Blindly follow" is used as an adverb-verb construction. "Blindly following" can be used as part of a continuous verb tense (e.g., "He is "blindly following" orders") or as a gerund (e.g., "Blindly following orders can be dangerous").

What's the difference between "blindly" and "naively"?

"Blindly" implies a lack of awareness or sight, while "naively" suggests a lack of experience or sophistication. You "blindly" trust someone because you don't see their flaws, but you "naively" trust someone because you are inexperienced in dealing with such people.