biographical
Americanadjective
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of or relating to a person's life.
He's gathering biographical data for his book on Milton.
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pertaining to or containing biography.
a biographical dictionary.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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semibiographicallyadverb
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quasi-biographicallyadverb
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semibiographicaladjective
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pseudobiographicallyadverb
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semibiographicadjective
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nonbiographicallyadverb
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biographicallyadverb
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pseudobiographicadjective
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unbiographicaladjective
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nonbiographicaladjective
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unbiographicallyadverb
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quasi-biographicaladjective
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pseudobiographicaladjective
Etymology
Origin of biographical
First recorded in 1730–40; biograph(y) + -ical
Explanation
Anything biographical has to do with the story of someone's life. If you're reading a biography of Margaret Mead, you might enjoy learning biographical details, like that she was the oldest of five children. A biography is a book about someone's life. Anything biographical can be from a biography, as in an actual book about someone, or just facts from a person’s life. Biographical information could be where someone is from, where they grew up, where they went to college, or when they became famous. Biographies are usually written about famous people, but everyone has biographical details about their own lives, too.
Vocabulary lists containing biographical
Words to Live By: Bio
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Literary Terms, Grade 6, Unit 1
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List 6
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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.
Biographical documentaries are still hugely popular; next to true crime, they’re what’s hot in nonfiction right now, as our recently reviewed releases “June” and “Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero” indicate.
From New York Times • Jan. 26, 2024
In 1956, he won a Navy talent contest as a singer and appeared on the “Ed Sullivan Show,” according to the 2007 book “The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 1, 2024
The Congressional Biographical Directory says Burnett was a colonel in a Confederate regiment and served in the Confederate Congress, while Reid was a volunteer aide to Confederate Gen. Sterling Price.
From Washington Post • Feb. 10, 2023
Biographical dictionaries contain information about people who have made some mark on history in many different fields.
From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021
—TYRO will find an account of this writer in Biographical Illustrations of Worcestershire: by John Chambers, Esq.:
From Notes and Queries, Vol. IV, Number 88, July 5, 1851 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Geneologists, etc. by Various
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.
