scrawl

[ skrawl ]

/ skrɔl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR scrawl ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to write or draw in a sprawling, awkward manner: He scrawled his name hastily across the blackboard.

verb (used without object)

to write awkwardly, carelessly, or illegibly.

noun

awkward, careless, or illegible handwriting.

something scrawled, as a letter or a note.

Content related to scrawl

What Was Scrabble’s Original Name?Great things can come out of hard times — take Scrabble. During the Great Depression, architect Alfred Mosher Butts couldn’t find work. So he decided to create a board game that required the vocabulary skills of anagrams and crossword puzzles but also had an element of chance. Butts hand-drew the original board with architectural drafting equipment. He also hand-lettered the tiles. He studied the front page of …

Words related to scrawl

cramped, inscribed

Words nearby scrawl

scratching post, scratchplate, scratchproof, scratchy, scraw, scrawl, scrawler, scrawly, scrawny, scrawp, screak

Origin of scrawl

1605–15; perhaps to be identified with late Middle English scraule to sprawl, crawl (blend of sprawl and crawl¹)

OTHER WORDS FROM scrawl

un·scrawled, adjectiveun·scrawl·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for scrawled

The messages that are scrawled in pen on benches are decidedly rated G.
David Best Creates a Temple Made of Memories Outside San Francisco|Debra A. Klein|February 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He opens a letter from his daughter, scrawled in uneven crayon: “Dear Daddy, can I come see you soon?”
Nine Craziest Moments From ‘Jobs’|Anna Klassen|August 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The words have been scrawled into the concrete footing of a makeshift dwelling in the mountains of New Mexico.
This Week’s Hot Reads, July 15, 2013|Sarah Stodola, Jen Vafidis, Damaris Colhoun|July 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
On the cover page was inscribed a big red "C." Inside were scrawled a professor's critical comments.
My Eulogy for My Father, Murray Frum|David Frum|May 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Things are not O.K.” On the back of the page, she scrawled in red ink, “Are you even on my side?
Shulamith Firestone's Madness|David Frum|April 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Across one of his own envelopes was scrawled the single word—Shylock.
Anthony Trent, Master Criminal|Wyndham Martyn
Then he repeated the scrawled request at the entrance of the park.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse|Vicente Blasco Ibanez
But when she had read the scrawled words she sat staring at them, hardly believing the things which had been written.
Glory of Youth|Temple Bailey
One of them came one morning to ask me to meet some eleven bills that I had scrawled my name upon.
The Magic Skin|Honore de Balzac
"Won't pin himself, in spite of that scrawled insult of Hereingefallen," I cut in.
The Recipe for Diamonds|Charles John Cutcliffe Wright Hyne

British Dictionary definitions for scrawled

scrawl

/ (skrɔːl) /

verb

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

noun

careless or scribbled writing, drawing, or marks

Derived forms of scrawl

scrawler, nounscrawly, adjective

Word Origin for scrawl

C17: perhaps a blend of sprawl and crawl 1

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