To write is to make, form or trace letters, numbers, words, etc., as with a pencil or pen. In this basic sense write is the most general of the words being compared here and can be used as a synonyms for any of them. Write , of course, has many more applications than the other terms because of its variety of specialized meanings, all of which are extensions of the basic sense. Write can mean to describe, communicate by letter, be the author of, and draw up or draft: to write one’s impression of an art show; forced to write from Europe to ask her family for money; a famous statesman who has written his autobiography; the lawyer who wrote my will.

Inscribe suggests writing for some solemn or official purpose. It can refer to the putting down of a person’s name in a formal list or register: to inscribe a student’s name on his school’s permanent honour roll. It can denote the marking or engraving of words, characters, names, etc., as part of conspicuous or permanent record: to inscribe a name on a public monument; to inscribe a ring with a personal message. It can designate also the signing or dedication of a book, photograph, etc.: to inscribe a volume of poetry to an old friend. To write something brief and do it in a hasty way is to jot . There are suggestions of a lack of forethought or preparation about this word: to jot down an idea on the back of an envelope; a telephone number jotted down on a matchbook cover. Pen means to write with a pen: to pen a letter to a friend. By extension it means to write in any way, but it often has connotations of composing with great care and thought: the enormous difficulties involved in penning a really fine short story. The word now has a formal, old-fashioned tone that may appear stuffy or pretentiously quaint in some contexts. Scribble is like jot in its implication of writing with haste and a lack of care: two young schoolgirls scribbling notes to each other during class. Scribble refers also to the making of illegible or meaningless marks: The two-year-old laughed happily after having scribbled all over the walls with his mother’s lipstick.