— anecdotalism , n. — anecdotally , adv.
/an"ik doht'l, an'ik doht"l/ , adj.
1. pertaining to, resembling, or containing anecdotes: an anecdotal history of jazz.
2. (of the treatment of subject matter in representational art) pertaining to the relationship of figures or to the arrangement of elements in a scene so as to emphasize the story content of a subject. Cf. narrative (def. 6).
3. based on personal observation, case study reports, or random investigations rather than systematic scientific evaluation: anecdotal evidence.
[ 1830-40; ANECDOTE + -AL 1 ]