tabula rasa

American  

[tab-yuh-luh rah-suh, -zuh, rey-, tah-boo-lah rah-sah] / ˈtæb yə lə ˈrɑ sə, -zə, ˈreɪ-, ˈtɑ bʊˌlɑ ˈrɑ sɑ /

noun

PLURAL

tabulae rasae

1. a mind not yet affected by experiences, impressions, etc.

2. anything existing undisturbed in its original pure state.

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tabula rasa British  

/ ˈtæbjʊlə ˈrɑːsə /

noun

1. (esp in the philosophy of Locke) the mind in its uninformed original state

2. an opportunity for a fresh start; clean slate

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tabula rasa Cultural  

1. Something new, fresh, unmarked, or uninfluenced. Tabula rasa is Latin for “blank slate.”

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Discover More

John Locke believed that a child's mind was a tabula rasa.

Etymology

Origin of tabula rasa

First recorded in 1525–35, tabula rasa is from Latin tabula rāsa “scraped tablet, clean slate”

Example Sentences

“There is a myth of flexibility, and galleries expect to have a tabula rasa,” Gluckman said in a phone interview.

From New York Times

Much like children themselves, they were a tabula rasa, a screen on which young readers could project and try out their own new and unfamiliar emotions.

From Washington Post

Historically, she added, the city state’s model of urban development has been “biased toward a very tabula rasa, tear-down-and-rebuild sort of approach.”

From New York Times

I’m also increasingly convinced that building equitable spaces means getting past the idea of always going for a brand-new, tabula rasa solution when we’re thinking about the future of a park or other open space.

From Los Angeles Times

In this enlightening examination of the brain’s power to learn, Dehaene dispenses with the idea that the human brain is a tabula rasa, or blank slate, arguing that it comes preprogrammed by evolution.

From Scientific American