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
- 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 )
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.
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
They invited their friends to scrawl spray-painted phrases and sketches across the walls, an aesthetic now seen in Dave’s locations around the world.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 15, 2025
The handwritten pink scrawl suggests a level of stress that is entirely understandable for the team putting on the biggest stadium tour of the year.
From BBC • Jun. 13, 2025
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 scrawl something unintelligible in the book and then set my plate awkwardly on the end table next to the sofa, ready to leave less than five minutes after I arrived.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
