blank slate

noun

Example Sentences

She viewed her students as blank slates, just waiting to be filled with knowledge.
Recent Examples on the Web The other eight justices are largely a blank slate. John Fritze, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2023 Ari Kelman documents how the mythology of the American continent as a blank slate, absent of Indians, arrived with the first settlers. Lizabeth Cohen, Washington Post, 5 Jan. 2023 The ideal juror to sit in a criminal trial is someone who’s essentially a blank slate. Asia Simone Burns, ajc, 28 Oct. 2021 Legacy West, developed by Karahan Cos. and Columbus Realty, is the mother of all mixed-use developments, created from a blank slate on the northwest corner of the Dallas North Tollway and Legacy Drive in Plano. Maria Halkias, Dallas News, 3 July 2020 But there were also, of course, the newcomers — those who shared in Molander’s vision for what the blank slate could become. The Arizona Republic, 27 Nov. 2022 Nowhere are the unintended consequences of these redistributions more harrowingly demonstrated than on the once-blank slate of Australia. Julie Zickefoose, WSJ, 17 Nov. 2022 By comparison, the West Campus, which will be a part of the development proposal, is a blank slate. Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2022 Like Tumblr, Notion is a blank slate, providing users with plenty of different templates to build and customize into what best suits their needs (and aesthetics). Makena Kelly, The Verge, 5 Jan. 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'blank slate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

First Known Use

1886, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of blank slate was in 1886

Dictionary Entries Near blank slate

Cite this Entry

“Blank slate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blank%20slate. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.

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