penmanship

noun

pen·​man·​ship ˈpen-mən-ˌship How to pronounce penmanship (audio)
Synonyms of penmanshipnext
1
: the art or practice of writing with the pen
2
: quality or style of handwriting

Synonyms of penmanship

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of penmanship in a Sentence

My third grade teacher thought it was important for us to learn penmanship. doctors are famous for their illegible penmanship
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The phonograph didn’t suffer from poor penmanship. — IEEE Spectrum, 6 Jan. 2026 For one project, Gentry combined penmanship samples from her family members to invent a unique font for a fictional restaurant’s branding. — Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 7 June 2026 Many pointed to an episode from the month prior, where a response from contestant Sadie Goldberger was not accepted because of her penmanship. — Louis Peitzman, Entertainment Weekly, 29 June 2026 These handwritten letters, which lend a quaint quality to the storytelling, are a delightful throwback to an era when penmanship was celebrated. — Shruti Mutalik, Baltimore Sun, 7 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for penmanship

Word History

First Known Use

1695, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of penmanship was in 1695

Rhymes for penmanship

See All Rhymes for penmanship

Browse Nearby Words

penman
penmanship
pen-mate
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Penmanship.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/penmanship. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

penmanship

noun
pen·​man·​ship -mən-ˌship How to pronounce penmanship (audio)
1
: the art or practice of writing with the pen
2
: quality or style of handwriting

More from Merriam-Webster on penmanship

Nglish: Translation of penmanship for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All