Synonyms

penmanship

American

[pen-muhn-ship] / ˈpɛn mənˌʃɪp /

noun

the art of handwriting; the use of the pen in writing.
a person's style or manner of handwriting.

clear penmanship; poor penmanship.

penmanship British

/ ˈpɛnmənʃɪp /

noun

Also called: calligraphy. style or technique of writing by hand

"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

Etymology

Origin of penmanship

First recorded in 1685–95; penman + -ship

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Ana starts writing, her perfect penmanship covering half a page before I’ve even started.

From Literature

Aunt Kitty gave me a disapproving scowl, and I pushed on before she brought up adding penmanship to my lessons in vocabulary and sums.

From Literature

If interpreting the economy now hinges on fine differences between upper and lowercases, sloppy penmanship could lead to financial ruin.

From Barron's

This isn’t to say everyone needs to brush up on penmanship and stop using AI calendars.

From The Wall Street Journal

The penmanship was quite good, considering it was all done in icing.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023