1
as in calligraphers
one who writes from dictation or copies manuscripts
variations between the different manuscripts attest to the fallibility of the scribes who transmitted them
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in clerks
an official whose job is to keep records
the scribe keeps the minutes of the club's meetings
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in writers
a person who creates a written work
a book of dusty poems by some now-forgotten scribe
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Recent Examples of scribes
Big Think, 9 Feb. 2026
This was common practice in ancient times, as parchments were expensive, leading scribes to reuse old manuscripts to archive new information.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 3 Feb. 2026
Does the use of ambient AI scribes improve patient care and health outcomes?
—Michelle Andrews, ABC News, 26 Jan. 2026
The scribes replaced by movable type lost their livelihoods, but literacy spread to millions.
—Zack Kass, Fortune, 23 Jan. 2026
On the television side, the scribes sold Misfit City to HBO Max, with Boom!
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 8 Jan. 2026
Catullus’s poems disappeared from the Western canon for centuries (likely because medieval Christian scribes avoided copying lurid pagan texts) yet were rediscovered and reprinted in the Renaissance, and are still alive millennia later, when would-be censors are long forgotten.
—Literary Hub, 10 Dec. 2025
The veteran scribes talk about the risk/reward factor of picking up the option and why the Panthers can afford to wait on making a final verdict on a potentially franchise-altering choice.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 3 Dec. 2025
From the first question, Variety’s A Night in the Writers’ Room gathering of five drama showrunners was a lively affair as the scribes compared notes and reflected on how much television has changed in a short time.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 17 Nov. 2025
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2026
Noun
Studies estimate that European scribes produced approximately 11 million books over the 900 years before the printing press.
—Big Think, 9 Feb. 2026
This was common practice in ancient times, as parchments were expensive, leading scribes to reuse old manuscripts to archive new information.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 3 Feb. 2026
Does the use of ambient AI scribes improve patient care and health outcomes?
—Michelle Andrews, ABC News, 26 Jan. 2026
The scribes replaced by movable type lost their livelihoods, but literacy spread to millions.
—Zack Kass, Fortune, 23 Jan. 2026
On the television side, the scribes sold Misfit City to HBO Max, with Boom!
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 8 Jan. 2026
Catullus’s poems disappeared from the Western canon for centuries (likely because medieval Christian scribes avoided copying lurid pagan texts) yet were rediscovered and reprinted in the Renaissance, and are still alive millennia later, when would-be censors are long forgotten.
—Literary Hub, 10 Dec. 2025
The veteran scribes talk about the risk/reward factor of picking up the option and why the Panthers can afford to wait on making a final verdict on a potentially franchise-altering choice.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 3 Dec. 2025
From the first question, Variety’s A Night in the Writers’ Room gathering of five drama showrunners was a lively affair as the scribes compared notes and reflected on how much television has changed in a short time.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 17 Nov. 2025
Verb
But this award, which was inaugurated in 2023 with a Jesso win, circles the same handful of writers, and country scribes like Jessie Jo Dillon, pop bards like Amy Allen, and reggaeton men-at-arms like Edgar Barrera are just as up next.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scribes
Noun
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Founded in the 10th century, this complex of churches was a crucible of wisdom for calligraphers, philosophers and illuminators.—
Marlise Kast-Myers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Mustapha comes from a family of Islamic scholars and calligraphers.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Drivers anxious to pay their tickets right away were unable to because clerks couldn’t yet match their payment with violations.—
A.D. Quig,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2026
-
In the fall, election clerks worked late into the night to process more than 70,000 voter registrations that had piled up while the county switched to the Texas Secretary of State's software for processing registrations.—
Saul Pink,
San Antonio Express-News,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The first sign of impending layoffs came in late January, when the sports staff was informed that plans to send writers to Italy to cover the Winter Olympics had been cancelled.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Every cash advance article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of loan products.—
Jasmin Suknanan,
CNBC,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Los Angeles leaders called on Wasserman to resign after the series of racy emails between him and Maxwell were released in the latest batch of the Jeffrey Epstein files over the weekend.—
Nicole Comstock,
CBS News,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Continue reading … FOUL PLAY – Lions fan files $100M lawsuit after DK Metcalf clash, denies racial slur claims.—
,
FOXNews.com,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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And in ordinary academic buildings and offices tucked up in the corners of the athletic department, university registrars and academic advisors were setting their hair on fire, trying to figure out how to approve transcripts and shoehorn new students into classes that were already full.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
9 Jan. 2026
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Advertisement For the next several years, activists knocked on the doors of sharecroppers and drove folks to county registrars’ offices, often facing denials or delays, arrests, and violence.—
Time,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The authors speculated that the changes, which lasted for another four weeks after the individuals stopped playing, were partly due to the three-dimensional environment of Super Mario.—
Amanda Gardner,
Martha Stewart,
8 Feb. 2026
-
The law’s authors pointed to research showing that the teenage brain is vastly different from an adult’s.—
Kelly Davis,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Upon inspection one evening, the father discovered scratches all over the bottom of the pair.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
5 Feb. 2026
-
And even though All the Little Houses is set in the ’80s, complete with Laura Ashley dresses and Jazzercise references, the novel scratches a thoroughly modern itch for real access to the inner lives of the kinds of alpha women who swarm our social media feeds.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Searches of business records kept by the Colorado and Kansas secretaries of state did not show an entity registered with that name in either state, though a business with that name is registered in Delaware.—
Nick Coltrain,
Denver Post,
1 Feb. 2026
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At certain points in his second term, various Cabinet secretaries have allegedly been on the outs but then managed to survive.—
Mark Leibovich,
The Atlantic,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scribes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scribes. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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