- shut one's eyes tosomething
- close one's eyes to something & shut one's eyes tosomething1. Lit. to close one's eyes to avoid seeing something unpleasant. •
I had to close my eyes to the carnage about me. I couldn't bear to look.
2. Fig. to ignore something; to pretend that something is not happening. •Maria simply shut her eyes to the bad morale in her department.
Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.