Blindism
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 An idiosyncratic behaviour associated with blind people.
"[…] prolonged stay at [asylums] will unfit [the blind] in a great measure for [the actual active world]. Certain peculiar habits are too likely to be acquired, harmless enough in themselves and useful to sightless persons when together, but which attract attention and stamp one as odd in the outside world. […] all of which are roughly but forcibly classed in the school phraseology under the head of “blindisms,”[…]"
- 2 An idiosyncratic behaviour associated with blind people.; A stereotypy characteristic of blind people, such as eye-rubbing or hand-flapping.
"He frequently has ‘blindism’ habits. His joints are usually lax, and his muscles flabby, and it is still more deplorable that he often has no joy in movement, and his emotional and muscular energy find a blind alley output in finger tappings, head shakings, body rockings, etc.[…]"
Example
More examples"[…] prolonged stay at [asylums] will unfit [the blind] in a great measure for [the actual active world]. Certain peculiar habits are too likely to be acquired, harmless enough in themselves and useful to sightless persons when together, but which attract attention and stamp one as odd in the outside world. […] all of which are roughly but forcibly classed in the school phraseology under the head of “blindisms,”[…]"
Etymology
From blind + -ism.
More for "blindism"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.