anecdotal

[ an-ik-doht-l, an-ik-doht-l ]

/ ˈæn ɪkˌdoʊt l, ˌæn ɪkˈdoʊt l /

adjective

pertaining to, resembling, or containing anecdotes: an anecdotal history of jazz.

(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.Compare narrative(def 7).

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

Nearby words

andy, ane, anear, anecdata, anecdotage, anecdotal, anecdote, anecdotic, anecdotist, anecdysis, anechoic

Origin of anecdotal

First recorded in 1830–40; anecdote + -al¹

Related formsan·ec·do·tal·ism, nounan·ec·do·tal·ly, adverbun·an·ec·do·tal, adjectiveun·an·ec·do·tal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for anecdotally

Anecdotally, crime is slightly down in Ferguson since Brown died, DeCarli said.
Ferguson’s Only Unsolved Murder|Justin Glawe|October 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Anecdotally, some babies are ‘never the same’ after vaccines.
From ‘Clueless’ to Clueless: Alicia Silverstone’s ‘The Kind Mama’|Lizzie Crocker|April 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Anecdotally I can tell you that the take-up rate is fairly small,” said Smyth.
Walmart’s New Embrace of Gay Employees a Sign of Corporate Shift|Daniel Gross|August 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
“Anecdotally, we have U.S. citizens who smuggle drugs, in large amounts sometimes,” he says.
At Mexican Border, Four in Five Drug Busts Involve American Citizens|Andrew Becker, G. W. Schulz, Tia Ghose|March 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Anecdotally, the influx of immigrants from Latin America and East Asia seems to have strengthened Latino and Asian identities.
How Ethnic Can Our Politicians Be?|Reihan Salam|June 11, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Instruction must be carried on objectively, experimentally, anecdotally.
Talks To Teachers On Psychology; And To Students On Some Of Life's Ideals|William James

British Dictionary definitions for anecdotally

anecdotal

/ (ˌænɛkˈdəʊtəl) /

adjective

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for anecdotally

anecdotal

adj.

1794, from anecdote + -al (1). Related: Anecdotally. Anecdotical is attested from 1744.