autobiographical
Americanadjective
adjective
-
of or concerned with one's own life
-
of or relating to an autobiography
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of autobiographical
First recorded in 1820–30; auto- 1 + biographical
Explanation
Anything autobiographical is all about you. If you tell your new class an autobiographical story, it's a true tale of your real life. An autobiography is a person's life story, and things that have to do with that life story can be described as autobiographical. The autobiographical details in your grandmother's collection of photo albums might be your favorite parts, brief but fascinating glimpses into her life. And if you love autobiographical writing, you're a fan of memoirs. This word comes from auto-, "self," and the Greek biographia, "description of life."
Vocabulary lists containing autobiographical
Words with 15 or More Letters, List 2
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Additional Literary Terms (Unit 1)
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: auto
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Propeller One-Way Night Coach" is a one-hour self-financed autobiographical tale about Travolta's flight as an eight-year-old with his actress mother from New York to Los Angeles in 1962.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
“It was my first attempt at an autobiographical thing,” Diamond told Rolling Stone of this encomium to an imaginary childhood friend.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
For Ms. Romvari, this is an autobiographical, almost nakedly therapeutic drama about the loss of her brother, unpompously ambitious in its hopscotching of time as it searches for scraps of understanding.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
However it's not an autobiographical account of his life so he was "able to create something more objectively dramatic".
From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026
Shortly after I published my first autobiographical essay seven years ago, my mother wrote me a letter pleading with me never again to write about our family life.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
