handwriting
noun
Simple meaning
Writing by hand.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
handrytingSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈhændɹaɪtɪŋ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The activity of writing by hand
“Handwriting can be slow and painful for one with arthritis.”
The act or process of writing done with the hand, rather than typed or word-processed.
The characteristic writing of a particular person.
Text that was written by hand.
by extension
A characteristic trait or hallmark by which somebody may be recognised.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The activity of writing by hand
Used this way, handwriting is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“Handwriting can be slow and painful for one with arthritis.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use handwriting
- “Handwriting can be slow and painful for one with arthritis.”noun
- “She recognized his handwriting.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A specialist in inferring character from handwriting.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.