anecdotal
an-ik-DOH-tuladjMeaning based on personal stories rather than careful study
Memory hook ANNIE’S DOTE-TALE: just a story. Annie swears her lucky socks win every game. Her only proof is Annie’s tale about last Saturday, not a count of wins and losses. Her evidence is anecdotal.
The only proof that the shortcut was faster was anecdotal: Dev said it felt quicker.
In context Several fishermen swore that the biggest trout bit only on rainy days, but the evidence was merely anecdotal; no one had ever kept a careful record of the catches.
Similar story-based, informal, unverified
Opposite empirical, scientific, systematic
From Greek anekdota, “things not published”: an (not) + ekdotos (given out); an anecdote began as a private, untold story.