anecdotally

/ænəkˈdəʊtəli/

//ænəkˈdəʊtəli// adv

"anecdotally" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“anecdotally” is uncommon English (frequency #57,855 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,855
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In an anecdotal manner; by means of a recounted incident.

Corpus desk

Index EN-anecdotally · anecdotally · English

anecdotally · rank #57,855 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,855
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH anticoagulant

Nearest frequency peer: anticoagulant (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “anecdotally”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “anecdotally” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for anecdotally
PropertyValue
Headwordanecdotally
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/ænəkˈdəʊtəli/
Letters11
Frequency rank#57,855
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “anecdotally” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).anecdotallyfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “anticoagulant” (#57,856), “Antonov” (#57,858), “alums” (#57,851). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “anecdotally” is #57,855. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

anecdotally is uncommon English at frequency #57,855 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anadverb, transcribed /ænəkˈdəʊtəli/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In an anecdotal manner; by means of a recounted incident.".

Zero misspellings are on record for anecdotally in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From anecdotal + -ly. The correct English form is anecdotally, spelled A-N-E-C-D-O-T-A-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In an anecdotal manner; by means of a recounted incident.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how anecdotally appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. As it was an informal hearing, the evidence was presented anecdotally.
  2. Yes, cockroaches wallow in filth, but a case of food poisoning is probably about as bad as it gets if one of those pests skitters across your slice of pizza – a stroll through the park compared to malaria, yellow fever or dengue fever. Still, anecdotally, many people suffer from katsaridaphobia, or cockroach phobia.

Etymology

From anecdotal + -ly.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "anecdotally"?
"anecdotally" is spelled A-N-E-C-D-O-T-A-L-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ænəkˈdəʊtəli/.
What does "anecdotally" mean?
As an adverb, "anecdotally" means: In an anecdotal manner; by means of a recounted incident.
How do you pronounce "anecdotally"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "anecdotally" is /ænəkˈdəʊtəli/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "anecdotally"?
From anecdotal + -ly. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "anecdotally", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list