scrawl
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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
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When You Reach Me
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Bridge to Terabithia
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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.
The BBC has seen a copy of the judgement which includes the report and a two-page prescription which shows the doctor's unreadable scrawl.
From BBC • Sep. 30, 2025
Managers can issue warnings to baristas who repeatedly write on customer cups ahead of time, scrawl something inappropriate or fail to use a Sharpie, according to internal guidance on the mandate to Starbucks stores.
From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 20, 2025
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
On a night in mid-January, Isla Lester, a server at the Greek restaurant, took a few moments between customers to scrawl out the letters K-A-Y-L-E-E in orange marker on the side of a fresh candle.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 14, 2023
I recognized Dad’s crabbed scrawl on a small brown cardboard box.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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.
