blank slate

noun

|Updated on: 9 Jun 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

This relatively blank slate allows Americans to project their own beliefs and biases onto the former FBI director.

— matt ford, The New Republic, "Robert Mueller’s Most Important Accomplishment," 16 May 2018
Given the significant amount of unrealized gains in the stock market, the parcel offers a promising blank slate for investors, Peak said.

— jesse leavenworth, courant.com, "Opportunity Zones Approved In Manchester, East Hartford," 23 May 2018
Doughnuts are like a blank slate waiting to be adorned.

— jeanette settembre, WSJ, "Wylie Dufresne, Famed Molecular Chef, Reinvents the Doughnut," 13 May 2018
Of course, no one who comes to the Human Origins exhibit enters as a blank slate; visitors come in shaped by a lifetime of culture and environment.

— rachel e. gross, Smithsonian, "How to Talk to Evangelicals About Evolution," 20 Apr. 2018
The success of Cask & Larder could be a big influence as the airport prepares to open its new south terminal in 2021, a blank slate to experiment with new food and retail concepts, Harris said.

— kyle arnold, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Orlando airport embraces 'farm to terminal' restaurant trend," 19 Mar. 2018
Some decried the changes generally taking place along the St. Claude Avenue corridor, while others expressed worry about leaving the property a blank slate.

— beau evans, NOLA.com, "Sun Yard hotel plan in Bywater struck down again," 3 May 2018
The basketball program though, is kind of like a blank slate.

— laken litman, Indianapolis Star, "Why Romeo Langford's top colleges had to include Vanderbilt," 25 Apr. 2018
Advertisement There's also the matter of tabula rasa itself, a philosophical concept that suggests the mind is a blank slate until life experience begets personality.

— rebecca farley, refinery29.com, "Is Tabula Rasa The New The OA?," 15 Mar. 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