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
Smells that are linked to childhood often have the ability to evoke powerful autobiographical memories that define your understanding of yourself today.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
Sims' character is based on the real-life Dr. Tann, who Wilder wrote about in her 1935 autobiographical novel Little House on the Prairie.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 27 May 2025
The piece was autobiographical, written in the form of a journal covering a week in the life of the author, who was William F. Buckley, Jr.
—Louis Menand, New Yorker, 26 May 2025
Between Karsh’s styling — which looks very similar to Cronenberg’s signature shock of hair and minimalist chic wardrobe — and the fact that Cronenberg wrote this film after his wife’s passing in 2017, many critics took this to mean the work was largely autobiographical.
—William Earl, Variety, 26 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for autobiographical
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Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
Sims' character is based on the real-life Dr. Tann, who Wilder wrote about in her 1935 autobiographical novel Little House on the Prairie.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 27 May 2025
The piece was autobiographical, written in the form of a journal covering a week in the life of the author, who was William F. Buckley, Jr.
—Louis Menand, New Yorker, 26 May 2025
Between Karsh’s styling — which looks very similar to Cronenberg’s signature shock of hair and minimalist chic wardrobe — and the fact that Cronenberg wrote this film after his wife’s passing in 2017, many critics took this to mean the work was largely autobiographical.
—William Earl, Variety, 26 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for autobiographical
Cite this Entry
“Autobiographical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autobiographical. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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