scrawl
Americanverb (used with object)
-
scrawls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scrawled,
past participle, past
-
scrawling
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
scrawls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scrawled,
past participle, past
-
scrawling
present participle
noun
-
awkward, careless, or illegible handwriting.
-
something scrawled, as a letter or a note.
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
scrawlsimple
-
scrawlssimple
-
have scrawledperfect
-
has scrawledperfect
-
am scrawlingprogressive
-
are scrawlingprogressive
-
is scrawlingprogressive
-
have been scrawlingperfect progressive
-
has been scrawlingperfect progressive
Past
-
scrawledsimple
-
had scrawledperfect
-
was scrawlingprogressive
-
were scrawlingprogressive
-
had been scrawlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scrawl
1605–15; perhaps to be identified with late Middle English scraule to sprawl, crawl (blend of sprawl and crawl 1 )
Explanation
To scrawl is to write in a quick, barely readable scribble. When you're signing a document, you might scrawl your name across the bottom. Doctors are well-known for the way they scrawl prescriptions on a pad, and you can refer to that chicken scratch handwriting itself as a scrawl. It's not easy to read someone's scrawl, which is careless and rushed. The origin of scrawl is (fittingly) unclear, although one guess connects it to the Middle English scrawlen, "spread out the limbs" or "sprawl."
Vocabulary lists containing scrawl
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
When You Reach Me
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Bridge to Terabithia
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
He meets his slightly older schoolmate Olympia, one of Eggers’ most beguiling creations, when she implores him to scrawl scatological bathroom graffiti on a playground structure in Old-English typography.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
The note, written in messy scrawl on lined paper, said, “They investigated me for month—Found nothing!!!”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
Like other chimpanzees at the centre, Ai would scrawl marker pens over blank paper without having to be motivated by food rewards.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2026
You’d scrawl your signature on each of the 25 cards, stuff them into their flimsy red envelopes and address them, painstakingly, to each member of your class.
From New York Times ● Feb. 10, 2024
When the bus was weaving around the streets near school, he suddenly ripped out a piece of loose-leaf paper and began to scrawl something on it.
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
Travis largely keeps his own counsel except when he scrawls in his journal, excerpts from which Mr. De Niro reads in voiceover.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
Players control a crew of characters on a quest to destroy the Paintress – a being who emerges once a year and scrawls a number onto a monolith.
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2025
When a kid scrawls her first word in Crayola on the dining room wall, we don’t officially consider her a writer.
From Salon ● Mar. 5, 2024
“I’m writing because when I telephoned, you just hung up on me,” Andy scrawls to a miffed Melissa at some point in their college years.
From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2023
He looks around to make sure nobody is watching, then takes a piece of paper from his pocket and scrawls something on it.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
Violet, named for the color of identifying crayon scrawled on her brow, is one of 250 to 500 patients the Marine Mammal Care Center rescues along the Los Angeles County coast every year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
It is primarily composed of concrete streets, old family-run stores, and a massive influx of newer, sleeker businesses with scrawled cursive logos and $7 drinks.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
Inside, travellers have left Greek scrawled on the walls, although it is not clear how old the writing is.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
The day after the council vote, protesters gathered outside Scientology’s Clearwater headquarters, where someone scrawled “Cult” and “Stop Scientology.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
If a ward passed away while under guardianship, a single word was usually scrawled by his or her name: “Dead.”
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Earlier this year, Meta announced a multibillion-dollar cable project named Waterworth, which will connect the U.S. to South Africa, India and Australia, scrawling a 31,000-mile letter W on the face of the planet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 2, 2025
Last November, a 65-year-old American tourist was arrested on suspicion of scrawling graffiti onto a wooden gate at the Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2025
Wembanyama cheerfully signed autographs, scrawling his name onto basketballs and Spurs jerseys — some even with his name already on the back — before making his way into a waiting vehicle.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 19, 2023
Another page looks like a word cloud, with Mercury scrawling dozens of words and phrases including “fandango,” “thunderbolts and lighting” and “belladonna.”
From New York Times ● May 31, 2023
It took preparation, and maybe sitting in that minimall scrawling her plans was both intellectual and emotional practice—Margo’s way of imagining herself into her fate.
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
