turn a blind eye

Meaning

To 'turn a blind eye' means to pretend not to notice something, usually something illegal, unethical, or incorrect, because you do not want to deal with it. It implies a conscious decision to ignore wrongdoing. The tone is neutral but often carries a critical or disapproving connotation.

Examples

• The teacher turned a blind eye to the students whispering during the practice test.

  The teacher turned a blind eye to the students whispering during the practice test.

• We cannot afford to turn a blind eye to environmental pollution anymore.

  We cannot afford to turn a blind eye to environmental pollution anymore.

• The security guard was accused of turning a blind eye to the shoplifters.

  The security guard was accused of turning a blind eye to the shoplifters.

• Management decided to turn a blind eye to his minor lateness because he is a top performer.

  Management decided to turn a blind eye to his minor lateness because he is a top performer.

• It's easy to turn a blind eye when the problem doesn't affect you directly.

  It's easy to turn a blind eye when the problem doesn't affect you directly.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ The manager turned his blind eye to the issue.

  ✓ The manager turned a blind eye to the issue.

  Use the indefinite article 'a' rather than a possessive pronoun like 'his' or 'her'.

• ✗ They turned a blind eye on the rules.

  ✓ They turned a blind eye to the rules.

  The idiom is followed by the preposition 'to,' not 'on' or 'at'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• The supervisor chose to ___ to the minor safety violations in the warehouse.

  💡 deliberately ignore

  Show answer

  turn a blind eye

• You can't just ___ to injustice when you see it happening in front of you.

  💡 pretend not to see

  Show answer

  turn a blind eye