paint-by-numbers

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adjective

formulaic; showing no original thought or creativity

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Word Origin for paint-by-numbers

C20: from children's painting books in which the colours to be used are identified by numbers on the design to be painted

Words nearby paint-by-numbers

paintball game, paint black, paintbox, paint bridge, paintbrush, paint-by-numbers, painted, painted beauty, painted bunting, painted cup, Painted Desert

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use paint-by-numbers in a sentence

Those are troubling numbers, for unfettered speech is not incidental to a flourishing society.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And too much of a focus on numbers can obscure strategic truths.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War|Nancy A. Youssef|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Within minutes, it seems, of the disclosures of these tragic events, large numbers of people chose a side and stuck to it.
In 2015, Let’s Try for More Compassion|Gene Robinson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The numbers reinforce another article in the Post, in which cops confessed to “turning a blind eye” to minor crimes.
Ground Zero of the NYPD Slowdown|Batya Ungar-Sargon|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST

That could include private financial or personal information—like the credit-card numbers you used to pay for the corrupted Wi-Fi.
How ‘Ethical’ Hotel Chain Marriott Gouges Guests in the Name of Wi-Fi Security|Kyle Chayka|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All along the highways and by-paths of our literature we encounter much that pertains to this "queen of plants."
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
Bacteria, when present in great numbers, give a uniform cloud which cannot be removed by ordinary filtration.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
As company after company appeared, we were able to form a pretty exact estimate of their numbers.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
She apparently prefers to paint single figures of women and young girls, but her works include a variety of subjects.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
The Mexicans, far superior in numbers, received every moment accessions to their strength.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various