as in free hand
permission to do something in any way you choose to do it
We gave the decorator carte blanche to furnish the house.
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Recent Examples of carte blanche
Showing two high jewelry collections a year, Choisne let her imagination run wild with innovation as the cornerstone of the carte blanche expression shown in July.
—
Thomas Waller, Footwear News, 11 Oct. 2025
For his New York program, Japan Society offered Hasumi carte blanche — a rare honor previously extended to figures such as Susan Sontag and art photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 2025
Armed with the new law and guns, white kidnappers had carte blanche to snatch and enslave free Black people, too.
—Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2025
Still, not every architect involved has found the project’s carte blanche approach liberating.
—Siobhan Reid, Robb Report, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for carte blanche
Thomas Waller, Footwear News, 11 Oct. 2025
For his New York program, Japan Society offered Hasumi carte blanche — a rare honor previously extended to figures such as Susan Sontag and art photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 2025
Armed with the new law and guns, white kidnappers had carte blanche to snatch and enslave free Black people, too.
—Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2025
Still, not every architect involved has found the project’s carte blanche approach liberating.
—Siobhan Reid, Robb Report, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for carte blanche
Recent Examples of Synonyms for carte blanche
Noun
-
This art and literacy program at the library’s City Heights branch provides weekly, free hands-on art-making activities based on the museum’s collection.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Jan. 2026
-
The man then lowered the weapon and raised his free hand in the air.—
Anna Schecter,
CBS News,
14 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
But now, Gilligan has finally cashed in the blank check to which he’s been long entitled.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
3 Nov. 2025
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But potential is all a blank check is, until it’s got numbers and a signature on it.—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Carte blanche.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/carte%20blanche. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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