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scrawl

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(skrôl)

transitive verb, intransitive verb

to write, draw, or mark awkwardly, hastily, or carelessly; esp., to write with sprawling, poorly formed letters

Origin: < ? scratch + sprawl

noun

sprawling, often illegible handwriting
something scrawled

Related Forms:

scrawler noun
scrawly adjective scrawlier, scrawliest

See scrawl in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb scrawled, scrawl·ing, scrawls

verb, transitive

To write hastily or illegibly.

verb, intransitive

To write in a sprawling, irregular manner.

noun

Irregular, often illegible handwriting.
Something, such as a note, written hastily or illegibly.

Origin:

Origin: Perhaps from obsolete scrawl, to gesticulate, sprawl

Origin: , from Middle English scrawlen

Origin: , probably blend of sprawlen, to sprawl; see sprawl

Origin: and craulen, to crawl; see crawl¹

Related Forms:

scrawlˈer noun

scrawlˈy adjective

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