graffito
Scratched wall writing
Graffito is the singular of graffiti—a single inscription, drawing, or marking scratched or painted on a surface.
The word is rarely used; English speakers typically say graffiti even for one piece: There was a graffiti on the wall.
Graffito appears mainly in archaeological or art-historical contexts, where precision matters.
Attaching identifying markers
- spraypaintPressurized pigment in cans
- stencilCutout pattern for painting
- aerosolMist in gas
- pieceA portion or segment
throw-up · bombing · crew · tagger · mural · wheatpaste · marker · tag
Text permanently marked
- petroglyphCarved image on stone
- pictographSymbol drawn as image
- hieroglyphAncient Egyptian picture-writing symbol
- cave-paintingPrehistoric artwork on walls
carving · glyph · prehistoric · neolithic · paleolithic · epigraphy · paleography · artifact
Controlled cut into tissue
- carvingShaping by cutting away
- engravingCarving into hard surfaces
- scratchSuperficial wound or mark
- sgraffitoScratch-revealed layered decoration
chisel · burin · stylus · scored · inscribed · gouged · intaglio · bas-relief
Damaging an appearance
- illegalForbidden by statute
- damageHarm or impairment
- scrawlCareless, illegible writing
- scribbleWrite without care
desecration · trespass · blight · disfigurement · nuisance · criminal · unauthorized · removal
Public expression of disapproval
- messageTransmitted communication
- statementExpressed claim or fact
- dissentDisagreement with authority
- sloganMemorable promotional phrase
resistance · subversive · activist · voice · political · revolutionary · samizdat · manifesto
tagging
Attaching identifying markers
- spraypaintPressurized pigment in cans
- stencilCutout pattern for painting
- aerosolMist in gas
piece · throw-up · bombing · crew · tagger · mural · wheatpaste · marker · tag · burner
inscription
Text permanently marked
- petroglyphCarved image on stone
- pictographSymbol drawn as image
- hieroglyphAncient Egyptian picture-writing symbol
cave-painting · carving · glyph · prehistoric · neolithic · paleolithic · epigraphy · paleography · artifact · relic
incision
Controlled cut into tissue
sgraffito · chisel · burin · stylus · scored · inscribed · gouged · intaglio · bas-relief · etched
defacement
Damaging an appearance
scribble · desecration · trespass · blight · disfigurement · nuisance · criminal · unauthorized · removal · cleanup
protest
Public expression of disapproval
slogan · resistance · subversive · activist · voice · political · revolutionary · samizdat · manifesto · counterculture
- Italian art termschiaroscuro, fresco, tempera, pieta, tondo
graffitoerasure
Act of wiping away
blank wall · restoration · whitewash · buff · tabula rasa
- graffiti artistSpray-paint muralist, often illegal
- graffiti artSpray-painted urban imagery
- American Graffiti1962 California youth film
- graffiti tagSpray-painted pseudonym marker
- subway graffitiIllicit transit murals
- graffiti lettersStylized spray-painted alphabet