Blindnesses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A condition characterized by the inability to see, which may have various causes affecting vision in different ways
2. The state of being incapable of perceiving light or visual stimuli, resulting from either physiological or neurological factors
3. The experience of lacking sight, which can manifest in different forms such as partial or total loss of vision

Etymology: "Blindnesses" is simply the plural of "blindness", and the plural has the same origin as the singular. The noun was formed in Old English from "blind" plus the suffix "-ness", which turns an adjective into a noun for a quality or state, so "blindnes" meant the condition of being blind. It passed into Middle English as "blyndnesse" and reached modern English in its present form. Since "blindness" can name many distinct conditions, from congenital disorders to damage in the brain's visual centres, the plural is used when speakers need to compare or list several of them. The plural is formed regularly by adding "-es" after the "s" sound at the end of the singular.

Synonyms: sightlessness, vision loss

Antonyms: sight, vision