penlike

Penlike is an adjective describing something that resembles a pen in form or function. Commonly, a penlike object is slender and cylindrical, with a tapering end akin to a nib or point, and may include features such as a cap or a grip that evokes a pen. The word comes from the noun pen plus the suffix -like; it is often written as penlike or pen-shaped.

In usage, penlike is a general descriptive term used across fields to convey morphology. In design contexts, a penlike handle signals compact ergonomics and familiar proportions. In natural history and materials science, penlike forms describe elongated, tapering structures, such as slender projections in fossils, plant parts, or mineral crystals, whose profile resembles that of a pen. The term emphasizes visual similarity rather than precise measurement, and is typically used in descriptive prose rather than formal taxonomy.

Alternatives include pen-shaped and, in some scientific contexts, peniform, which may convey a more exact sense of a slender, pen-like form. See also related terms such as stylus, nib, and pen.