anecdotally

[an-ik-doht-l-ee]

adverb

1. through, by means of, or with the inclusion of anecdotes.

   In this book about Old East Yorkshire, famous events, personalities, and buildings are anecdotally presented.

2. as an anecdote.

   The blog post relates anecdotally how someone made $6,000 selling nude photos online.

3. in a way that is based on observation, case studies, or random investigation rather than systematic scientific evaluation.

   This is, of course, a difficult theory to prove in a double-blind study, but it bears out anecdotally.

Other Word Forms

• unanecdotally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of anecdotally¹

anecdotal ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

The government hasn’t released a comprehensive accounting of what it has made from its investments, but anecdotally, the returns so far are robust.

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The government hasn’t released a comprehensive accounting of what it has made from its investments, but anecdotally, the returns so far are robust.

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Mr Penny said anecdotally around 50 per cent of the students will have their phones switched off during the day, as per school policy, but the rest will be on vibrate.

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Hundreds of wealthy Norwegians have already left the country for Switzerland in recent years, anecdotally because of their native country's high taxes.

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That rate appeared, anecdotally, to be increasing on Monday but it hardly amounted to an exodus.

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