scrawl
Hasty, messy writing
Scrawl is hasty, careless handwriting—the kind that's barely legible: I could barely make out his scrawl.
As a verb, to scrawl is to write in this manner: She scrawled a note and left it on the counter.
The word suggests speed or indifference rather than careful penmanship.
Lacking order or neatness
- sloppyCareless and untidy
- illegibleCannot be read
- untidyLacking neatness or order
- smudgedBlurred by contact
blurred · careless · hasty · rushed · hurried · cramped · unreadable · indecipherable
Colored wax stick
- doodleMindless rough sketch
- scribbleWrite without care
- playfulInclined toward fun
- fingerpaintHand-applied children's art medium
chalkboard · uninhibited · freehand · colorful · kindergarten · wobbly · unsteady · beginner
Brief, hasty recording
- dashQuick burst or pinch
- rushedDone with excessive speed
- quickMoving with speed
- hurriedDone too quickly
spontaneous · scribble · note · memo · improvised · cursory · slapdash · off-the-cuff
Skill of forming letters
- cursiveJoined handwriting style
- scriptWritten words for performance
- longhandUnabbreviated handwriting
- handGrasping body part
autograph · signature · inscription · manuscript · notation · jotting · written · ink
messy
Lacking order or neatness
smudged · blurred · careless · hasty · rushed · hurried · cramped · unreadable · indecipherable · scratchy
crayon
Colored wax stick
fingerpaint · chalkboard · uninhibited · freehand · colorful · kindergarten · wobbly · unsteady · beginner · shaky
jot
Brief, hasty recording
hurried · spontaneous · scribble · note · memo · improvised · cursory · slapdash · off-the-cuff · shorthand
penmanship
Skill of forming letters
hand · autograph · signature · inscription · manuscript · notation · jotting · written · ink · pen
tagging
Attaching identifying markers
- vandalismWillful property damage
- tagsIdentifiers for sorting items
- markerSomething that signals location
sharpie · underpass · alleyway · illicit · defacement · scratch · etching · carving · initials
scratch
Superficial wound or mark
- Scribblesdoodle, scribble, squiggle, scratch, chicken scratch
- hard to readblurry text, illegible, faded print, blurred, smudged
- signaturesautograph, John Hancock, initials, mark, flourish
- hard-to-read textbad handwriting, faded text, chicken scratch, scribbles
- jottingsnotes, jottings, jotting, scribbles, scribbling
- illegibilityscribble, chicken scratch, bad handwriting, gibberish, blur
scrawlcalligraphy
Ornamental handwriting art
penmanship · copperplate · cursive · print · block letters
- scrawl outWrite messily and quickly