biographical

or bi·o·graph·ic

[ bahy-uh-graf-i-kuh l or bahy-uh-graf-ik ]

/ ˌbaɪ əˈgræf ɪ kəl or ˌbaɪ əˈgræf ɪk /

adjective

of or relating to a person's life: He's gathering biographical data for his book on Milton.

pertaining to or containing biography: a biographical dictionary.

Nearby words

Origin of biographical

First recorded in 1730–40; biograph(y) + -ical

Related forms

bi·o·graph·i·cal·ly, adverbnon·bi·o·graph·i·cal, adjectivenon·bi·o·graph·i·cal·ly, adverbpseu·do·bi·o·graph·ic, adjective

pseu·do·bi·o·graph·i·cal, adjectivepseu·do·bi·o·graph·i·cal·ly, adverbqua·si-bi·o·graph·i·cal, adjectivequa·si-bi·o·graph·i·cal·ly, adverbsem·i·bi·o·graph·ic, adjectivesem·i·bi·o·graph·i·cal, adjectivesem·i·bi·o·graph·i·cal·ly, adverbun·bi·o·graph·i·cal, adjectiveun·bi·o·graph·i·cal·ly, adverb

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

Examples from the Web for biographical

Paulkovich has written nothing about himself—we have no biographical data on him.
So-Called ‘Biblical Scholar’ Says Jesus A Made-Up Myth|Candida Moss, Joel Baden|October 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the biographical inattention to his voluminous body of written work nonetheless has been a strange oversight.
Churchill Would Be Famous Today on the Strength of His Writing Alone|Anthony Paletta|June 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His method, throughout the book, is biographical, not historical.
‘The Embrace of Unreason’: How France Lost It All Between the Wars|Michael Korda|May 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Biographical details have been changed to protect his identity.
Telling My Family That I’m Leaving Again for Afghanistan|Nick Willard|April 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Even when the biographical subject has been dead for decades.
Brazil’s Rich Ban Biographies Via Arcane Law|Mac Margolis|November 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The biographical sketch seemed to satisfy readers that they were getting their "dope" straight on Goldfield Consolidated.
My Adventures with Your Money|George Graham Rice
This is not in any sense a biographical sketch of Robert Owen.
Socialism|John Spargo
No special biography of Leicester has yet been written except in biographical dictionaries and encyclopaedias.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 4|Various
His moral essays found a counterpart in the biographical essays of the Abbé de Brantôme.
The Mystery of Francis Bacon|William T. Smedley
The century now closing has redeemed Knox from neglect, and has gathered around his name a mass of biographical material.
John Knox|A. Taylor Innes

Word Origin and History for biographical

biographical

adj.

1738; see biography + -ical. Related: Biographically.