penmanship
Americannoun
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the art of handwriting; the use of the pen in writing.
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a person's style or manner of handwriting.
clear penmanship; poor penmanship.
noun
Etymology
Origin of penmanship
Explanation
Penmanship is the technique of writing something by hand. If your penmanship is terrible, you might want to type your book report instead. Penmanship is a somewhat old-fashioned way to say "handwriting." Before typewriters and then computer keyboards were commonly used, teaching students tidy penmanship was considered to be extremely important. If you attended school in the 19th century, you would have spent hours practicing your penmanship in copy books, writing and rewriting the same sentences. Penmanship comes from the now-obsolete penman or "clerk."
Vocabulary lists containing penmanship
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.
If interpreting the economy now hinges on fine differences between upper and lowercases, sloppy penmanship could lead to financial ruin.
From Barron's ● Dec. 4, 2025
To Evans’s surprise, Patchett wrote back, thanking her for commenting on something that meant a lot to her and praising Evans’s penmanship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2025
His penmanship and his notetaking skills are impressive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2025
Isaac believed that William would write in cursive, so he took a penmanship course.
From New York Times ● May 21, 2023
In the corner was a cursive capital W. She had studied the twins’ penmanship notebooks to make sure she got it right.
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
Definitions 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.
