scrawl

Use Scrawl in a sentence

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

Related forms

un·scrawled, adjective

un·scrawl·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To scrawl

Collins

World English Dictionary

scrawl (skrɔːl)

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

—n
2.	careless or scribbled writing, drawing, or marks

[C17: perhaps a blend of sprawl and crawl¹]

'scrawler

—n

'scrawly

—*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Relevant Questions

What Rhymes With Scrawl?

00:10

Scrawl is one of our favorite verbs.

So is yaff. Does it mean:

to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.

to bark; yelp.

LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

scrawl

1610s, perhaps from M.E. scrawlen "spread out the limbs, sprawl" (late 14c.), which possibly is an alteration of sprawlen (see sprawl) or crawl. The noun is recorded from 1693.

Example sentences

There is not much of it, and the scrawl seems hasty.

It means that nurses don't have to read the scrawl of doctors when they are trying to figure out what treatments to apply.

Make notes of your notes in tiny scrawl so that they can fit on a single sheet of paper.

The handwriting varies from fine script to an almost unreadable scrawl.

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Related Words

scratch

unreadable

Matching Quote

"Sometimes I have a notion that what might improve the situation is to have women take over the occupations of government and trade and to give men their freedom. Let them do what they are best at. While we scrawl interoffice memos and direct national or extranational affairs, men could spend all their time inventing wheels, peering at stars, composing poems, carving statues, exploring continents—discovering, reforming, or crying out in a sacramental wilderness. Efficiency would probably increase, and no one would have to worry so much about the Gaza Strip or an election."

-Phyllis McGinley