1
as in handwriting
the form or style of a particular person's writing
doctors are famous for their illegible penmanship
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2
as in calligraphy
writing done by hand
the students spend far more time honing their computer skills than they do improving their penmanship
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Recent Examples of penmanship
The boy had an army of private tutors, for Latin, Italian, French, Yiddish, Hebrew, English, ancient philosophy, history, geography, drawing, penmanship, and music.
—
Merve Emre, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Isaiah Falls, Karri, kwn, Destin Conrad and Nippa are each pushing the sound in their own lane, building momentum through personality and penmanship.
—Carl Lamarre, Billboard, 29 Oct. 2025
His first full-length album, Illmatic, was an evolution in hip-hop lyricism, and his top-tier penmanship has powered a catalog of 17 solo albums.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2025
The company provided side-by-side comparisons of GPT-5’s penmanship versus GPT-4o for things like wedding toasts and poems.
—Alexandra Sternlicht, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for penmanship
Merve Emre, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Isaiah Falls, Karri, kwn, Destin Conrad and Nippa are each pushing the sound in their own lane, building momentum through personality and penmanship.
—Carl Lamarre, Billboard, 29 Oct. 2025
His first full-length album, Illmatic, was an evolution in hip-hop lyricism, and his top-tier penmanship has powered a catalog of 17 solo albums.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2025
The company provided side-by-side comparisons of GPT-5’s penmanship versus GPT-4o for things like wedding toasts and poems.
—Alexandra Sternlicht, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for penmanship
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penmanship
Noun
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But my handwriting is terrible, so if anyone tried to read them, there's not a chance.—
Eileen Finan,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
-
The Secret Service conducted a handwriting comparison analysis of the words, which led to the arrest of David Hoffman.—
Phillip M. Carter,
The Conversation,
28 May 2026
Noun
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Kyoto calligraphy is often paired with tea ceremonies.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
29 May 2026
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As preschoolers dance, paint and play inside a Sunset Park daycare center, seniors sing traditional Chinese opera, exercise and practice calligraphy just one block away.—
Hannah Kliger,
CBS News,
22 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Penmanship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penmanship. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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