anecdotal

American  

[an-ik-doht-l] / ˌæn ɪkˈdoʊt l /

adjective

1. pertaining to, resembling, or containing anecdotes.

   an anecdotal history of jazz.

2. Fine Arts. (of the treatment of subject matter in representational art) pertaining to the relationship of figures or to the arrangement of elements in a scene so as to emphasize the story content of a subject.

3. based on personal observation, case study reports, or random investigations rather than systematic scientific evaluation.

   anecdotal evidence.

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anecdotal British  

/ ˌænɛkˈdəʊtəl /

adjective

1. containing or consisting exclusively of anecdotes rather than connected discourse or research conducted under controlled conditions

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Usage

What does anecdotal mean? Anecdotal describes something that is related to a short account of an incident from a particular perspective. Something that is anecdotal is a story told through anecdotes. An anecdote is a short recounting of an event from someone’s point of view, normally in a pleasant or humorous manner. For example, anecdotal history is a historical account that is laid out through the perspectives of the people involved. Anecdotal also describes something, such as research, that is based on personal observation and experience. Anecdotal evidence can be gathered by interviews, surveys, and other methods that allow people to share their experiences with the researcher.  In comparison, scientific evidence is gathered by comparing a dependent and independent variable in a controlled environment. Both types of evidence are important, but anecdotal evidence can’t prove something the way repeated testing and consistent results can. Example: My science paper relied on anecdotal evidence instead of experimentation, so the teacher gave me a low grade.

Other Word Forms

• anecdotalism
  noun
• unanecdotal
  adjective
• anecdotally
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of anecdotal

First recorded in 1830–40; anecdote + -al ¹

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Explanation

Something anecdotal has to do with anecdotes — little stories. Anecdotal evidence is based on hearsay rather than hard facts. People like to share stories about things that happened to them, or that they heard about, to make a point. That kind of talk is anecdotal: based on small, personal accounts. Anecdotal stories are helpful when you’re trying to give an example of something, but there's a downside to anecdotal information: since it’s not based on facts, you never know if you can totally trust it. So it's best to go beyond the anecdotal and get more solid information.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

anecdotal

"Until now, nail changes associated with GLP-1 therapies had essentially been anecdotal," said study author Dr. Charles Taïeb.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

It’s a familiar phenomenon in the era of D.I.Y. health: Influencers using anecdotal evidence and limited research to peddle the next holy-grail product.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

He said there was anecdotal evidence of criminals travelling to the UK for a couple of days at a time to carry out what he described as "shop theft tourism".

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Additional anecdotal evidence comes from a firm that each business day produces a list of stocks that AI rates as most likely to outperform the market over the subsequent three months.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

While the broader concerns about attention span are widespread among scholars, the evidence can be indirect, some of it anecdotal.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

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Related Words

• unreliable
• unscientific

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