scrawl

[skrawl]

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.

Origin of scrawl

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

Related formsun·scrawled, adjectiveun·scrawl·ing, adjective

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

Related Words for scrawled

cramped, inscribed

Examples from the Web for scrawled

Contemporary Examples of scrawled

Notes were scrawled on a large white board, and “The Internet Association” was written in chalk on a blackboard.
Inside Uber’s Political War Machine
Olivia Nuzzi
June 30, 2014
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of scrawled

With it was a scrawled line, "I'm leaving the head and heels of the future to you."
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter
And I saw that the address, scrawled in pencil, was in Anthony's handwriting.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
He then unfolded a second paper, on which some verses to Sarah Bernhardt were scrawled.
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt
These words were scrawled in pencil on the inside: 'I don't want it indeed.
Life And Adventures Of Martin Chuzzlewit
Charles Dickens
Often she had scanned Lucia's scrawled programs for the names there.
The Innocent Adventuress
Mary Hastings Bradley

British Dictionary definitions for scrawled

scrawl

verb

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

noun

careless or scribbled writing, drawing, or marks

Derived Formsscrawler, 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

Word Origin and History for scrawled

scrawl

1610s, "write or draw untidily," of uncertain origin, perhaps from Middle English scrawlen "spread out the limbs, sprawl" (early 15c.), which possibly is an alteration of sprawlen (see sprawl (v.)) or crawl (v.). Related: Scrawled; scrawling. The noun is recorded from 1690s, from the verb. Meaning "bad handwriting" is from 1710.