blank slate

noun

|Updated on: 4 Aug 2018

Examples: blank slate in a Sentence

Definition of blank slate

: tabula rasa

See blank slate defined for English-language learners

Examples of blank slate in a Sentence

She viewed her students as blank slates, just waiting to be filled with knowledge.

Recent Examples of blank slate from the Web

The draw marked the fifth blank slate of the season for Ranjitsingh and gave Louisville City a 7-2-2 record.

— the courier journal, The Courier-Journal, "Ranjitsingh perfect in goal as Louisville City plays to scoreless draw," 9 June 2018
Marsha Norman’s script, like Alice Walker’s novel, begins with Celie as a nearly blank slate.

— lawrence toppman, charlotteobserver, "A deeper ‘Purple’ than we’ve seen reaches Charlotte via Broadway Lights," 12 July 2018
Now, after his stunning primary loss Tuesday, the next generation of Democratic leaders is a blank slate. .

— tory newmyer, Washington Post, "The Finance 202: Kennedy retirement isn't a game changer for corporate America," 28 June 2018
Without that, Sweetbitter is just a show about some people who work in a restaurant, and Tess is just a blank slate of a girl watching them do things.

— alissa wilkinson, Vox, "The delectable possibility and bland reality of Sweetbitter," 25 May 2018
Eclectic Full Contact Theatre presents David Lindsay-Abaire's nails-on-a-chalkboard farce about a woman whose amnesia makes each day a completely blank slate.

— dmitry samarov, Chicago Reader, "The farce Fuddy Meers makes a critic long for amnesia," 22 June 2018
The specific Constitutional clauses are something of a blank slate having rarely been tested in court in more than 200 years.

— Washington Post, "Obscure no more, the emoluments clause is back again in a federal court," 11 June 2018
Development on Starlink started about five years ago at Ubisoft’s Toronto studio, when Matthew Rose, now a producer on the game, was given a blank slate to come up with a new concept.

— andrew webster, The Verge, "Starlink is like a kid-friendly No Man’s Sky with awesome spaceship toys," 11 June 2018
The variety of quality trails is the result of a triad of a blank slate, plentiful financial resources and supportive city officials.

— joe jackson, SFChronicle.com, "Redding is California’s secret mountain biking mecca," 8 June 2018

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.

First Known Use of blank slate

1980

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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BLANK SLATE Defined for English Language Learners

blank slate

noun

Definition of blank slate for English Language Learners

: someone or something that is still in an original state and that has not yet been changed by people, experiences, etc.
: something that does not show or express anything