anecdote
Brief personal story
An anecdote is a short, informal story about a real incident or person, typically told to illustrate a point or entertain: He shared an anecdote about meeting the president.
Anecdotes enliven speeches, essays, and conversation, though their truth may be embellished.
Anecdotal evidence—conclusions drawn from individual stories rather than systematic data—is considered unreliable.
Account of events
- taleSpoken or written narrative
- yarnTwisted strand for crafts
- accountRecord of dealings
- episodeSerialized content unit
incident · occurrence · event · happening · scene · moment · encounter · adventure
Small cut portion
- vignetteBrief evocative description
- glimpseFleeting view
- snapshotInformal photograph taken quickly
- sketchHasty informal drawing
capsule · thumbnail · tidbit · morsel · fragment · aside · digression · interlude
Written personal recollection
- memoryMind's retention capacity
- reminiscenceRecalling past experiences
- recollectionRecalled mental image
- experiencePractical knowledge from life
testimony · confession · autobiography · biography · firsthand · eyewitness · intimate · candid
Humorous statement seeking laughter
- wittyCleverly humorous
- funnyProvoking laughter or suspicion
- amusingCausing light laughter
- entertainingProviding amusement or enjoyment
comical · lighthearted · whimsical · playful · banter · chuckle · droll · hilarious
Ordered historical record
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- traditionCustom passed through generations
lore · oral-history · mythology · antiquity · artifact · relic · epoch · dynasty
Representative case shown
- caseContainer or instance
- instanceSingle occurrence of something
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
- proofDemonstration of truth
demonstration · supporting · persuasive · relevant · apt · fitting · instructive · cautionary
story
Account of events
episode · incident · occurrence · event · happening · scene · moment · encounter · adventure · escapade
snippet
Small cut portion
sketch · capsule · thumbnail · tidbit · morsel · fragment · aside · digression · interlude · offhand
memoir
Written personal recollection
- memoryMind's retention capacity
- reminiscenceRecalling past experiences
- recollectionRecalled mental image
experience · testimony · confession · autobiography · biography · firsthand · eyewitness · intimate · candid · self-disclosure
joke
Humorous statement seeking laughter
entertaining · comical · lighthearted · whimsical · playful · banter · chuckle · droll · hilarious · facetious
chronicle
Ordered historical record
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
tradition · lore · oral-history · mythology · antiquity · artifact · relic · epoch · dynasty · annals
example
Representative case shown
proof · demonstration · supporting · persuasive · relevant · apt · fitting · instructive · cautionary · moral
- humorjoke, jokes, joking, comedy, comic
- storytellingstorytelling, story, tale, narrative, narrator
- talestale, funny stories, tall tales, short story, yarns
- digressionsdigression, tangent, aside, sidetrack, detour
- life researchlife history, life story, biography, autobiography, personal narrative
- storiesstory, tale, tales, myth, legend
anecdotestatistics
Collected numerical information
data · empirical evidence · scientific study · systematic research · meta-analysis
anecdotetreatise
Formal scholarly composition
dissertation · thesis · white paper · scholarly work · encyclopedia entry
- anecdotal evidenceSupport from individual accounts
- personal anecdotesSelf-told life experiences
- funny anecdotesHumorous short narratives
- humorous anecdoteBrief amusing tale
- amusing anecdotesBrief humorous accounts
- witty anecdotesHumorous brief tales