scrawl

American  

[skrawl] / skrɔl /

verb (used with object)

1. to write or draw in a sprawling, awkward manner.

   He scrawled his name hastily across the blackboard.

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verb (used without object)

1. to write awkwardly, carelessly, or illegibly.

noun

1. awkward, careless, or illegible handwriting.

2. something scrawled, as a letter or a note.

scrawl British  

/ skrɔːl /

verb

1. to write or draw (signs, words, etc) carelessly or hastily; scribble

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noun

1. careless or scribbled writing, drawing, or marks

Other Word Forms

• scrawler noun
• scrawly adjective
• unscrawled adjective
• unscrawling adjective

Etymology

Origin of scrawl

1605–15; perhaps to be identified with late Middle English scraule to sprawl, crawl (blend of sprawl and crawl ¹ )

Example Sentences

A portion of one of the restaurant’s walls was covered in Venezuelan bank notes scrawled with messages.

From Los Angeles Times

“John Olson has been wrong about Enron for over 10 years and is still wrong,” Lay scrawled in the margins of the article.

From The Wall Street Journal

Some AI workers won’t let bots do basic tasks, choosing to scrawl their meeting notes on paper and input calendar entries manually.

From The Wall Street Journal

People who are immersed in AI often have some surprisingly old-fashioned habits, from scrawling meeting notes on paper to inputting calendar entries manually.

From The Wall Street Journal

By the end of October, the prime minister's frustration is obvious in the long note he scrawls at the end of a Covid briefing document marked OFFICIAL/SENSITIVE.

From BBC

Related Words

• inscribe
• scribble