autobiographical
adjective
au·to·bio·graph·i·cal
ˌȯ-tə-ˌbī-ə-ˈgra-fi-kəl 
-bē-
variants
or less commonly autobiographic
ˌȯ-tə-ˌbī-ə-ˈgra-fik
-bē-
1
a
: of, relating to, or being an autobiography
an autobiographical essay/book/novel
… the television studios began to buy the film and broadcast rights to biographical and autobiographical narratives as fast as they bought the rights to fictional ones.—
Nigel Hamilton
Nigel HamiltonIn recounting the exploits of some half-dozen Soviet spies, the author synthesizes much autobiographical and historical material.—Harry Howe Ransom
Harry Howe RansomThis heart-wrenching, autobiographical account of Burch's childhood between ages 8 and 11 has the power of a Dickens novel.—Booklist
Booklist
b
: in the style of or based on an autobiography
Made for a pittance by the then-unknown [Martin] Scorsese, this autobiographical film about his Italian-Catholic boyhood was shot in Hollywood and on location in New York City's Little Italy.—Robert F. Moss
Robert F. Moss2
a
: of, relating to, or influenced by one's life or past personal experiences
… so much of Wyeth's art is autobiographical, that is, stimulated and conditioned by deep personal responses to locations or people, …—John Wilmerding
John Wilmerding… ask her for too many autobiographical details and she begs off, insisting that her days are too ordinary for words.—Jeff Giles
Jeff Giles
b
: of, relating, or being memory of personally experienced events in the past
Autobiographical memory, that is, memory for personally experienced past events, is central to human functioning, as it is of fundamental significance for the individual's sense of self and goal orientation.—Elise Debeer et al.
Elise Debeer et al.
autobiographically
adverb
The male coming-of-age story, by contrast, has been plundered relentlessly. D. H. Lawrence, Tobias Wolff, J. D. Salinger and Ernest Hemingway have written autobiographically.
—Courtney Weaver
Courtney Weaver
She speaks here for the first time autobiographically, having dictated this memoir in the final months of her life.
—Francis Mason
Francis Mason
Examples of autobiographical in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In different ways, each of these writers carried on Schwartz’s legacy, transforming personal experience into great autobiographical art.
—Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
Her sometimes autobiographical work inspired generations of artists to engage with politics boldly.
—Keyaira Boone, Essence, 15 Apr. 2024
Disc two is even better: the affecting melodic richness of Fish’s autobiographical Misplaced Childhood, performed with flair and precision during a 1986 London gig.
—Ernesto Lechner, SPIN, 11 Apr. 2024
Flores sings with sincerity, and his autobiographical songwriting is often heavy with emotion.
—Josh Crutchmer, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2024
Nearly all his novels carry some autobiographical echoes.
—Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
His first album was 1957’s autobiographical Djibouti.
—Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Apr. 2024
In Lexi's autobiographical play, Our Life, Ethan took on multiple roles, including the Nate Jacobs character who had an elaborate musical number.
—Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024
Back then, my material was more surreal and less autobiographical.
—Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Apr. 2024
Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
Her sometimes autobiographical work inspired generations of artists to engage with politics boldly.
—Keyaira Boone, Essence, 15 Apr. 2024
Disc two is even better: the affecting melodic richness of Fish’s autobiographical Misplaced Childhood, performed with flair and precision during a 1986 London gig.
—Ernesto Lechner, SPIN, 11 Apr. 2024
Flores sings with sincerity, and his autobiographical songwriting is often heavy with emotion.
—Josh Crutchmer, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2024
Nearly all his novels carry some autobiographical echoes.
—Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
His first album was 1957’s autobiographical Djibouti.
—Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Apr. 2024
In Lexi's autobiographical play, Our Life, Ethan took on multiple roles, including the Nate Jacobs character who had an elaborate musical number.
—Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024
Back then, my material was more surreal and less autobiographical.
—Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'autobiographical.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near autobiographical
Cite this Entry
“Autobiographical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autobiographical. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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