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anecdote
Sign in to saveAn anecdote is "a story with a point", such as to communicate an abstract idea about a person, place, or thing through the concrete details of a short narrative or to characterize by delineating a specific quirk or trait.
An anecdote is a short story told to illustrate a specific point or idea, often using concrete details to convey something abstract about a person, place, or thing. Anecdotes matter because they help communicate ideas in a memorable and relatable way, whether to highlight a particular trait or characteristic.
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Research
22,339 papers- About anecdote.Annals of vascular surgery · 2014Berguer R, Arbor A, MichiganDOI: 10.1016/j.avsg.2014.01.001
- Seeking Evidence Not Anecdote.The Annals of thoracic surgery · 2025Sundt TMDOI: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2025.08.040
- Commentary: Evidence or anecdote?The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery · 2021Patel VS, Lee RDOI: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2020.08.040
- From Anecdote to Evidence: The FARES II Trial.Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia · 2025Fabbro M 2nd, Rachiele JDOI: 10.1053/j.jvca.2025.06.030
- Soy peptide as an anecdote to undernutrition.Life metabolism · 2024Mattson MPDOI: 10.1093/lifemeta/loae034
- Medical Cannabis for Pain: Anecdote or Evidence.Journal of pain & palliative care pharmacotherapy · 2017Lipman AGDOI: 10.1080/15360288.2017.1313358
- Food noise: definition, measurement, and future research directions.ReviewNutrition & diabetes · 2025Dhurandhar EJ, Maki KC, Dhurandhar NV et al.DOI: 10.1038/s41387-025-00382-x
- The power of the anecdote.Qualitative health research · 2006Morse JMDOI: 10.1177/1049732306292121
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Encyclopedic overview
4 sectionsContents
- Etymology and usage
- As evidence
- References
- External links
An anecdote is "a story with a point", such as to communicate an abstract idea about a person, place, or thing through the concrete details of a short narrative or to characterize by delineating a specific quirk or trait.
Anecdotes may be real or fictional; the anecdotal digression is a common feature of literary works and even oral anecdotes typically involve subtle exaggeration and dramatic shape designed to entertain the listener. An anecdote is always presented as the recounting of a real incident involving actual people and usually in an identifiable place. In the words of Jürgen Hein, they exhibit "a special realism" and "a claimed historical dimension".
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “anecdote” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.