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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Our approach from the very start was choosing projects wisely to have a very specific slate that allows people to see our kind of handwriting.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026
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There remained his oil paintings and the many books marked by his handwriting in the margins—now mere traces of him.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 May 2026
Noun
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Along with plenty of floral fun, there’ll be music from traditional instruments like the Chinese guzheng and Hmong qeej, Tai Qi, education about medicinal plants, guided sensory walks, water calligraphy demonstrations, poetry and food vendors.—
Jared Kaufman,
Twin Cities,
13 May 2026
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That preparation included lessons in calligraphy, horseback riding, piano and Regency dancing.—
Emily Zemler,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Penmanship.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penmanship. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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