a situation in which nothing has yet been planned or decided, so that someone is free to decide what should happen or be done

The American republic expanded from a near tabula rasa, politically and geographically speaking. 从政治上和地理上来说，美利坚共和国是从近乎一片空白的状态扩展建立起来的。

Projects should aim to work with the existing urban fabric rather than assuming tabula rasa. 项目的目标应该是与现有的城市结构相融合，而不应该假定是白纸一张从头开始。

a person whose character is not fixed, and who can develop in different ways

Far from being a tabula rasa awaiting the imprint of others' ideas, he was a man of the most rigid principles. 他绝非一块等待别人留下印记的白板，而是一个有着最严格原则的人。

in philosophy, the human mind before it has any thoughts or ideas, as it is at birth

Holmes conceives of the mind as a tabula rasa. 福尔摩斯认为心灵是一片白板。