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I was scribbling a grocery list last night and my wife, with her master's in English education and service as a middle school teacher, kept asking me what every other word was. I thought I was being clear with my writing (she was looking at the list upside-down), and I said, "I'm sorry I'm not enunciating my writing enough."

But then I said, "Not enunciate, but whatever the equivalent is for enunciation with handwriting. So what is that then, huh?" And we were both stumped.

My thoughts were:

  • Clarity, but I would interpret "writing clearly" to mean something more like writing concisely, or
  • Penmanship, but the definitions I found online for that were, "the art or skill of writing by hand." That's not exactly right either, as I think a lot of calligraphy (calligraphy, not cursive) is actually hard to read because the lettering flair obscures the shape of the letter.
  • Legible, this seems to be the closest to what I'm looking for, but legible means, "clear enough to read," where what I'm looking for isn't necessarily to make it clear enough to read, but rather just to make the letters more distinct, like enunciating a word might make the sounds more distinct.

So, is there any word that conveys this? Enunciate makes the sounds in a word more clear when spoken, ____ makes the letters in a word more clear when written.

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  • You enunciate vocally what you transcribe orthographically (in written form).
    – FumbleFingers
    Nov 17, 2016 at 16:05
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    I like your options of "clarity" and "legibility". Are you sure they don't work in this context?
    – Juan M
    Nov 17, 2016 at 16:35
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    "Penuniciate", perhaps? : )
    – Doug Warren
    Nov 17, 2016 at 16:53
  • @JuanM - I think maybe it doesn't work because enunciate is a verb. I'm looking for a verb that I could use: "I'll try to _____ my letters from now on." I couldn't say I'm going to legible my letters. I could say that I'll try to make my letters more legible, but I thought my handwriting was legible.
    – Chuck
    Nov 17, 2016 at 16:56
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    There may not be a way around having to add a word to the verb you are looking for. If, for example, you want to tell a person to speak more clearly, you might say, "Enunciate, please." If you want to tell a person to write more clearly, you might say, "Be legible." The added word, of course, is "be." Just a thought . . .. Don
    – rhetorician
    Nov 18, 2016 at 13:36

3 Answers 3

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Emblazon

: to write or draw (a name, picture, etc.) on a surface so that it can be seen very clearly

"Emblazon." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.

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  • You know, that's not quite the definition I had in mind when I think of that word, but it seems like that's exactly what I'm looking for. Not sure why you got a down vote; I'm going to accept this as the answer :)
    – Chuck
    Nov 18, 2016 at 14:07
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    I don't think 'emblazon' is the right word for this situation. You wouldn't emblazon your grocery list... Please take a look at the full definition of the word [MWD]
    – 0xFEE1DEAD
    Nov 18, 2016 at 14:21
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    I know what you mean. I tend to think more of Wal Mart signage or sports team jerseys than a black Bic pen and grocery list.
    – Phil Sweet
    Nov 18, 2016 at 14:21
  • @0xFEE1DEAD - In my mind, emblazon meant more of a decorative or artistic method of lettering, but definitions I've found on other sites seem to all continuously say things like "inscribe conspicuously" or "print ... in a very noticeable way" or "to decorate something with... words so that people will notice it easily" (emphasis added).
    – Chuck
    Nov 21, 2016 at 14:48
  • So, as I mention in the comment above, where I tend to think of it as a word meaning more to decorate, the definitions I've read make me think the word actually means to make the (words/letters/patterns) stand out and be noticed and less about it being art. When @PhilSweet says, "I tend to think more of Wal Mart signage" - is the sign emblazoned across the store front because it is artistic or is it because it is designed to be easily seen? If I was going to make the letters on my grocery list clearly readable then it would seem to me that I could say I've emblazoned the letters on the list.
    – Chuck
    Nov 21, 2016 at 14:59
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writing legibly

Possible to read or decipher: legible handwriting. [TFD]

or printing

Write (text) clearly without joining the letters together: ‘print your name and address on the back of the cheque’ [OXD]

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0

I'd have gone with "illuminating".

Illuminate is defined by Collins Dictionary as "making clear and understandable".

It also is used to refer to the decoration applied to the old manuscripts that were written with quill pens (often by monks). I think that association is quite apt here.

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