paint-by-numbers

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adjective

formulaic; showing no original thought or creativity

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

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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