scribbles
Messy handwritten marks
Scribbles are hasty, careless marks made with a pen or pencil, often illegible or meaningless.
Children scribble before they learn to write properly; adults scribble when jotting quick notes or doodling absently.
The verb scribble suggests writing done without care for neatness or legibility: She scribbled her number on a napkin.
Scribbles can also dismiss someone's writing as worthless: His so-called poetry is just scribbles.
Casual, aimless drawings
- sketchesRough, quick drawings
- drawingsImages rendered by hand
- cartoonsAnimated drawings, often humorous
- caricaturesExaggerated comic depictions
figures · outlines · illustrations · etchings · portraits · diagrams · thumbnails · margins
Careless, illegible writing
- smudgedBlurred by contact
- blotchyIrregularly marked with patches
- sloppyCareless and untidy
- illegibleCannot be read
scratchy · hasty · rushed · careless · unreadable · slapdash · haphazard · untidy
Skill of forming letters
- cursiveJoined handwriting style
- inkWriting fluid
- handwritingManual letter formation
- scriptWritten words for performance
shorthand · jottings · notation · marginalia · note-taking · ballpoint · memo · longhand
Rough, quick drawings
- brainstormingGenerating many ideas freely
- conceptualOf or relating to ideas
- freestyleWithout prescribed technique
- spontaneityActing without forethought
imagination · inspiration · expression · thumbnails · storyboards · ideation
doodles
Casual, aimless drawings
- sketchesRough, quick drawings
- drawingsImages rendered by hand
- cartoonsAnimated drawings, often humorous
caricatures · figures · outlines · illustrations · etchings · portraits · diagrams · thumbnails · margins
scrawl
Careless, illegible writing
illegible · scratchy · hasty · rushed · careless · unreadable · slapdash · haphazard · untidy
penmanship
Skill of forming letters
- cursiveJoined handwriting style
- inkWriting fluid
- handwritingManual letter formation
script · shorthand · jottings · notation · marginalia · note-taking · ballpoint · memo · longhand · graphology
sketches
Rough, quick drawings
- brainstormingGenerating many ideas freely
- conceptualOf or relating to ideas
- freestyleWithout prescribed technique
spontaneity · imagination · inspiration · expression · thumbnails · storyboards · ideation
crayons
Wax pigment sticks
- coloringAdding pigment to something
- kindergartenEarly schooling for youngsters
- playtimeRecreation period for children
fingerpaint · storybook · alphabet · preschool · scrawling · doodling · markers
- kids' artcrayons, stick figures, finger painting, chalk, markers
- kids writingthank you notes, birthday cards, crayon art, handwriting, doodles
- hard-to-read textscrawl, bad handwriting, faded text, chicken scratch
- Marginaliamarginalia, footnote, annotation, gloss, highlighting
- script notesscript notes, marginalia, notations, annotations, stage directions
- kids craftsfinger paint, finger painting, crayons, coloring, construction paper
scribblescalligraphy
Ornamental handwriting art
fine penmanship · masterpiece · illuminated manuscript · copperplate · clean lines
scribble, scribbling, scribbled, scribbler, scribblers, scribbly, scribblings