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

tabulae rasae plural

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

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• tabulae rasae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tabula rasa

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

Example Sentences

If the brain started as a true tabula rasa, with no built-in connections, neurons would first need to locate and connect with one another.

From Science Daily • May 3, 2026

Somewhere inside a tabula rasa passed off as an office space, a diligent worker is rewarded with a five-minute "dance experience."

From Salon • Jan. 18, 2025

Her desire for a global tabula rasa outstrips that of even the most fanatical Red Guards, who still dominate her mental landscape.

From New York Times • Mar. 23, 2024

The top is a tabula rasa of post-pandemic young adulthood, ready to absorb and reflect the 2023 equivalent of those aforementioned references: It looks like TikTok, tastes like espresso martinis and sounds like Dua Lipa.

From Washington Post • Jan. 7, 2023

Departments, districts, and cantons presented, and were intended to present, a tabula rasa upon which the law-makers of France might impress any pattern whatsoever.

From The Governments of Europe by Ogg, Frederic Austin