blank canvas

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blank canvas

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By analogy with artists who begin with a blank canvas, thereby possessing the freedom to shape it according to their creative inclinations.

noun blank canvases · blank canvasses

also, figuratively An unmarked or empty state, offering a limitless potential for creation, development or interpretation. Near-synonyms: new canvas, clean slate, new page, new sheet, new leaf
Similar: blank slate, empty canvas, empty page, blank page, empty sheet, blank sheet, empty leaf, blank leaf, new canvas, clean slate, new page, new sheet
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see blank, canvas. There are no such personal revelations in The Madonna of the Future, nor anything, indeed, at all characteristic of Mr James. There is beauty in the tale of the American painter who dreams over a model for twenty years, while he and she grow old, and leaves at his death nothing more to show for his

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MLA

"blank canvas." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/blank%20canvas. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

blank canvas. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/blank%20canvas

Chicago

"blank canvas." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/blank%20canvas.

BibTeX

@misc{blank_canvas_2026,
  title = {blank canvas},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/blank%20canvas},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}