Memoir vs. Anecdote — What's the Difference?

A memoir (; from French: mémoire: memoria, meaning memory or reminiscence) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual.

An anecdote is a brief, revealing account of an individual person or an incident: "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. Occasionally humorous, anecdotes differ from jokes because their primary purpose is not simply to provoke laughter but to reveal a truth more general than the brief tale itself.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 account of the personal experiences of an author.

A short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person

Often memoirs An autobiography.

A short account of an interesting or humorous incident.

A biography or biographical sketch.

Pl. an·ec·dotes or an·ec·do·ta (-dōtə) Secret or hitherto undivulged particulars of history or biography.

A report, especially on a scientific or scholarly topic.

A short account of a real incident or person, often humorous or interesting.

Memoirs The report of the proceedings of a learned society.

An account which supports an argument, but which is not supported by scientific or statistical analysis.

An autobiography; a book describing the personal experiences of an author.

A previously untold secret account of an incident.

A biography; a book describing the experiences of a subject from personal knowledge of the subject or from sources with personal knowledge of the subject.

(ambitransitive) To tell anecdotes (about).

Any form of narrative describing the personal experiences of a writer.

Unpublished narratives.

A memorial account; a history composed from personal experience and memory; an account of transactions or events (usually written in familiar style) as they are remembered by the writer. See History, 2.

A particular or detached incident or fact of an interesting nature; a biographical incident or fragment; a single passage of private life.

A memorial of any individual; a biography; often, a biography written without special regard to method and completeness.

Short account of an incident (especially a biographical one)

An account of something deemed noteworthy; an essay; a record of investigations of any subject; the journals and proceedings of a society.

An account of the author's personal experiences

An essay on a scientific or scholarly topic