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anecdote was our Word of the Day on 02/10/2009. Hear the podcast!
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Examples of anecdote in a Sentence
Like many Jesuits who then ate most of their meals in refectories, McKenzie was a master raconteur with endless anecdotes, stories, and one-liners. —Margaret O'Brien Steinfels, Commonweal, 11 Sept. 2009
If Antony had won, of course, the story would have been very different. Indeed, despite the dominance of the Augustan version of events, a few hostile anecdotes about the young Octavian probably offer a glimpse of what Antony's side was saying. —Mary Beard, New York Review of Books, 12 Feb. 2009
Alexander's use of the family's private papers—the Waughs were prolific writers of letters and diaries as well as books—not only adds richly to the entertainment value of his account but also serves to illuminate just how tangled are the threads of filial love, hurt, awe, and competitiveness that run through their work. Although he ranges freely over two centuries of family anecdotes, amusing and appalling by turn, the dominant figure here is, as it should be, Evelyn. —Evelyn Toynton, Harper's, August 2007
Any competent science reporter knows anecdotes are not data and that one dramatic story proves nothing. —Editor & Publisher, 4 Nov. 2002
Deeply convinced of her own unattractiveness, frequently lonely and unimaginably needy, Joplin was a person who lived all over the page. It is impossible to read about her and not crave more anecdotes and personal details of such a wanton, tragic life. —Kim France, New York Times Book Review, 2 May 1999
He told us all sorts of humorous anecdotes about his childhood.
told us once again that anecdote about the dog and the bike
Recent Examples of anecdote from the Web
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When new encounters flare into misunderstandings, an exchange of anecdotes usually dissolves tension and overcomes mutual suspicion.
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But there are no indelible behind-the-scenes anecdotes.
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Hebl and fellow Democrat Terese Berceau both cut him off, challenging him to prove his anecdote was true.
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Hebl and fellow Democrat Terese Bereceau both cut him off, challenging him to prove his anecdote was true.
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Anecdotes about Mattis’s audacity in the field are legion.
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There are wonderful anecdotes supporting that, the most obvious being the San Francisco 49ers once made an unplanned stop on their flight home after losing to the Dolphins to get more IVs for dehydrated players.
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An open, inclusive, diverse society is the opposite of an anecdote to a closed society where there is only one right way to think, believe, and act.
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Bar-Lev belabors some anecdotes, notably one involving the band’s sabotage-by-LSD of a documentary crew.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'anecdote'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Trace Anecdote Back To a Greek Slambook
The Byzantine official Procopius wrote three historical works in Greek. In the first two, he dealt with wars and public works projects, but the third was something of a departure from this kind of history. Referred to as "Anekdota," from the Greek a- meaning "not," and ekdidonai, meaning "to publish," it contained bitter attacks on the emperor Justinian, his wife, and other notables of contemporary Constantinople. Understandably, it was not published until after its writer's death. English speakers originally used an anglicized version of the book's name for similar secret or unpublished histories or biographies, and by the 17th century, the meaning of "anecdote" had been broadened to cover any interesting or amusing personal tale.
ANECDOTE Defined for English Language Learners
anecdote
playDefinition of anecdote for English Language Learners
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: a short story about an interesting or funny event or occurrence
ANECDOTE Defined for Kids
anecdote
playDefinition of anecdote for Students
: a short story about something interesting or funny in a person's life
Learn More about anecdote
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See words that rhyme with anecdote Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for anecdote Spanish Central: Translation of anecdote Nglish: Translation of anecdote for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of anecdote for Arabic speakers
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