biographical
Americanadjective
-
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.
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.
Vocabulary lists containing biographical
Words to Live By: Bio
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Literary Terms, Grade 6, Unit 1
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List 6
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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.
“It is late for the literal, no?” he protests when the narrator presses him on biographical specifics.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
Another contender, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, overlaps with Villaraigosa when it comes to biographical details: Both are from the L.A. area, Latino and relatively close in age.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026
Wildly different genres will compete for that award, which pits "Hamnet" against commercial success "Bridget Jones, Mad About the Boy" and biographical film "I Swear".
From Barron's • Feb. 22, 2026
The new display features a stark image by White House photographer Daniel Torok with minimal context, a contrast to other presidents’ portraits, which still include fuller biographical captions.
From Salon • Feb. 16, 2026
Not the prosaic biographical details, but beyond that.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
