anecdotallyadv.
/ˌanᵻkˈdəʊtəli/, /ˌanᵻkˈdəʊtl̩i/, U.S. /ˌænəkˈdoʊdəli/ 1. By means of, or with regard to, anecdotes; in an anecdotal style.
ΚΠ
1839 National Gaz. & Literary Reg. (Philadelphia) 26 Apr. Three books..comprise the works of Burns, and all that the present editor..could say biographically and anecdotally of the poet.
1904 M.A.P. 30 Jan. 117/2 Thus anecdotally have I touched on the three principal events in the artistic career of Mr. George Adolphus Storey.
1977 Church Times 6 May 7/1 He is a first-rate communicator and puts his message across vividly and anecdotally.
2005 J. Skoller Shadows, Specters, Shards iv. 143 Always speaking anecdotally, rather than descriptively, she is never able to give her telling a coherent narrative with a linear progression.
2. As a sentence adverb, indicating that a statement is based on anecdote, rather than systematic research or analysis.
ΚΠ
1964 Sci. News-let. 7 Mar. 152/3 It has long been said, anecdotally, that women must forget the unpleasantness of labor pains or they would show less enthusiasm for subsequent pregnancies.
1983 Winchester (Va.) Star 22 Sept. 25/1 Peppery foods are also believed to stimulate the appetite by setting off the flow of saliva and gastric juices... And, anecdotally at least, they act as an overall stimulant.
2003 Independent 2 July (Review section) 4/3 Anecdotally, we know that women voters are very put off by the aggression and the ‘yah-boo’ element of adversarial politics.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2020; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adv.1839