annals
Americannoun
-
a record of events, especially a yearly record, usually in chronological order.
- Synonyms:
- history, chronicles
-
historical records generally.
the annals of war.
- Synonyms:
- history, chronicles
-
a periodical publication containing the formal reports of an organization or learned field.
plural noun
-
yearly records of events, generally in chronological order
-
history or records of history in general
-
regular reports of the work of a society, learned body, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of annals
1555–65; (< Middle French ) < Latin annālēs ( librī ) literally, yearly (books), plural of annālis continuing for a year, annual, equivalent to ann ( us ) a year + ālis -al 1
Explanation
Annals are chronological historical records. Some annals recount the achievements of war heroes; others, in the form of high school yearbooks, record historically terrible hairstyles. Annals comes from the Latin word annus, meaning year. As the word itself suggests, many annals are yearly records, but this is not always the case. You may encounter the word annals in the phrase “annals of history,” which refers not to one specific historical record but the collection of all recorded history. Scholarly societies often refer to their regular reports as annals, as in the Annals of the International Society for Porcupine Studies.
Vocabulary lists containing annals
Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Vocabulary from "John L. O'Sullivan on 'Manifest Destiny' " from 1839
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The Fellowship of the Ring
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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.
The results, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, were based on 4,746 adults between ages 55 and 75.
From Science Daily • May 19, 2026
Looking for more math resources, Havens wrote to the journal Annals of Mathematics.
From Slate • May 2, 2026
“That’s why we need to be really cautious in giving someone a diagnosis,” says Devi, who wrote a recent opinion piece published in the Annals of Internal Medicine outlining concerns about the different diagnostic criteria.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026
Loneliness and social isolation are associated with cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, according to a 2021 Annals of Behavioral Medicine study, which can increase your risk of premature death.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 6, 2025
I did; the book was there: Tacitus’s Annals of Rome.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
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.
