anecdotal

adjective

an·​ec·​dot·​al ˌa-nik-ˈdō-tᵊl 

1

: based on or consisting of reports or observations of usually unscientific observers

anecdotal evidence

health benefits that may be more anecdotal than factual

2

a

: of, relating to, or consisting of anecdotes

an anecdotal biography

b

: given to or skilled in telling anecdotes : anecdotic sense 2

my anecdotal uncle

3

: of, relating to, or being the depiction of a scene suggesting a story

anecdotal details

anecdotally

ˌa-nik-ˈdō-tᵊl-ē 

adverb

Examples of anecdotal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Direct attacks on humans in the wild have remained, until now, anecdotal and largely unverified. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 18 May 2025

The report’s compilers asked for data about the education background of senior level staff while speaking with experts and academics for anecdotal and evidence-based insight. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 13 May 2025

But the five midwives with whom NPR spoke offered anecdotal accounts of women showing up at regional hospitals in labor and with complications that are sometimes deadly for the mother and the baby. —Khwaga Ghani, NPR, 31 Mar. 2025

While just above the conventional 0.05 threshold, this result suggests that the erosion of home-field advantage in Super Regionals may be more than anecdotal. —Giovanni Malloy, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

see anecdote

First Known Use

1715, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Phrases Containing anecdotal

• anecdotal evidence

Rhymes for anecdotal

• hypocotyl
• sacerdotal
• motile
• total
• subtotal