Definition of ANECDOTE

The Greek Smear Job at the Root of Anecdote

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 English speakers originally used an anglicized version of the book's name for similar secret or unpublished histories or biographies, and by the 17th century, the meaning of anecdote had been broadened to cover any interesting or amusing personal tale.

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 on the Web

One weird anecdote that jumped out to me was this story about Ivana Trump, whom Donald married in 1977. — Sean Illing, Vox, "Trump’s ties to the Russian mafia go back 3 decades," 8 Dec. 2018 But a new anecdote may well be one of Noah’s sweetest moments ever. — Sara Delgado, Teen Vogue, "Noah Centineo Gave Laura Marano a Spontaneous Sweet 16 Gift When They Filmed "Austin & Ally"," 16 Oct. 2018 The industry has also not yet codified the influence of cold weather on battery range, but anecdotes suggest a shortening effect. — Jim Resnick, Ars Technica, "Review: Toyota’s new Prius Prime needs more battery," 24 Jan. 2018 Get our daily newsletter One in, none out The anti-gentrification brigades often cite anecdotes from residents forced to move. — The Economist, "In praise of gentrification," 21 June 2018 And there’s perhaps no anecdote that better exemplifies that than how Billie chose her Instagram handle, @wherearetheavocados. — Rubi Jones, Teen Vogue, "Billie Eilish Talks Girls in the Mosh Pit and Avocados for The Music Issue," 18 June 2018 For Presidents’ Day, Cormac O’Brien — author of Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents and Secret Lives of the First Ladies — picks five of the most unusual anecdotes from the more than 200-year history of the American presidency. — Cormac O’brien, Time, "5 Unusual Moments in Presidential History, Picked by an Expert," 19 Feb. 2018 An author’s note in the book (which was tweeted out by MSNBC’s Katy Tur) explains that Wolff compiled anecdotes from more than 200 interviews with senior White House staffers and Trump himself. — Kate Storey, Esquire, "If Michael Wolff’s Access to Trump Surprises You, Then You Don’t Know Michael Wolff," 5 Jan. 2018 But his trade war is turning the anecdotes against him, and there are growing signs of trouble, even as the war officially began Friday. — Aaron Blake, chicagotribune.com, "How Trump's trade war with China could go sideways on him," 8 July 2018

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.