biographical

American  

[bahy-uh-graf-i-kuhl] / ˌbaɪ əˈgræf ɪ kəl /

Also biographic

adjective

1. of or relating to a person's life.

   He's gathering biographical data for his book on Milton.

2. pertaining to or containing biography.

   a biographical dictionary.

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Other Word Forms

• biographically
  adverb
• nonbiographical
  adjective
• nonbiographically
  adverb
• pseudobiographic
  adjective
• pseudobiographical
  adjective
• pseudobiographically
  adverb
• quasi-biographical
  adjective
• quasi-biographically
  adverb
• semibiographic
  adjective
• semibiographical
  adjective
• semibiographically
  adverb
• unbiographical
  adjective
• unbiographically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of biographical

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

Explanation

Anything biographical has to do with the story of someone's life. If you're reading a biography of Margaret Mead, you might enjoy learning biographical details, like that she was the oldest of five children. A biography is a book about someone's life. Anything biographical can be from a biography, as in an actual book about someone, or just facts from a person’s life. Biographical information could be where someone is from, where they grew up, where they went to college, or when they became famous. Biographies are usually written about famous people, but everyone has biographical details about their own lives, too.

Example Sentences

The broader biographical facts are obeyed, but “Amadeus” is fundamentally ahistorical, and sometimes implausible: It is to be trusted only as television.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

One might argue that her grief and denial just attached themselves to astrological beliefs because such beliefs happened to be there; it was no more than a biographical accident.

From Slate • May 5, 2026

Using federal datasets this way raises privacy law concerns because they contain a lifetime of sensitive details about you, including biographical, employment and tax information.

From Salon • Apr. 23, 2026

Posters, billboards and biographical videos of the hidden leader reinforce the message of continuity between father and son.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026

While mopping the operating rooms of the medical research institute, I got the notion of writing a series of biographical sketches of Negro Communists.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright