Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Scrawl
Scrawl
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Scrawled
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Scrawling
.] [Probably corrupted from
scrabble
.] To draw or mark awkwardly and irregularly; to write hastily and carelessly; to scratch; to scribble;
as, to
. scrawl
a letterHis name,
scrawled
by himself. Macaulay.
Scrawl
,Verb.
I.
To write unskillfully and inelegantly.
Though with a golden pen you
scrawl
. Swift.
Scrawl
(skra̤l)
, Noun.
Unskillful or inelegant writing; that which is unskillfully or inelegantly written.
The left hand will make such a
scrawl
, that it will not be legible. Arbuthnot.
You bid me write no more than a
scrawl
to you. Gray.
Webster 1828 Edition
Scrawl
SCRAWL
, v.t.1.
To draw or mark awkwardly and irregularly.2.
To write awkwardly.SCRAWL
, v.i.1.
To write unskillfully and inelegantly.Though with a golden pen you scrawl.
2.
To creep; to crawl. [This is from crawl, but I know not that it is in use.]SCRAWL
, n.1.
Unskillful or inelegant writing; or a piece of hasty bad writing.2.
In New England, a ragged, broken branch of a tree, or other brush wood.Definition 2024
scrawl
scrawl
English
Noun
scrawl (plural scrawls)
- An irregular, possibly illegible handwriting.
- A hastily, or carelessly written note etc.
Translations
irregular handwriting
|
|
hastily or carelessly written note
|
|
Verb
scrawl (third-person singular simple present scrawls, present participle scrawling, simple past and past participle scrawled)
- (transitive) To write something hastily or illegibly.
- (intransitive) To write in an irregular or illegible manner.
- (intransitive) To write unskilfully and inelegantly.
- Milton
- Though with a golden pen you scrawl.
- Milton
Translations
to write hastily or illegibly
|
to write in an irregular or illegible manner
|
Etymology 2
From Middle English scraulen (“to crawl”), itself an alteration of crawlen (“to crawl”). More at crawl.
Verb
scrawl (third-person singular simple present scrawls, present participle scrawling, simple past and past participle scrawled)
- To creep; crawl; (by extension) to swarm with crawling things
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Latimer to this entry?)