autobiography

autobiography — noun

1. a book in which the author tells the story of their own life, usually covering c

1.名詞B2
釋義

a book in which the author tells the story of their own life, usually covering childhood, important events, and personal experiences.

例句

Michelle Obama's autobiography sold millions of copies during its first year in print.

[person]'s autobiography sold/published

In his autobiography, the chef describes growing up poor in a small village in Italy.

in [one's] autobiography, [person] describes/recalls

同義詞
  • memoir

    more focused on a specific period or theme of the writer's life rather than the whole life

  • life story

    informal and broader; can be told orally or in writing, not necessarily a published book

  • personal history

    neutral and slightly formal; emphasises the factual record of one's life

反義詞
  • biography

    written by someone else about the subject's life

文法句型

autobiography of [person]

in [one's] autobiography

用法筆記

Subject is usually a well-known person — politicians, athletes, artists, business leaders. The book is typically titled 'My Life,' 'The Autobiography of…,' or similar. Distinguish from biography (sense covered by another lemma): a biography is written ABOUT someone by another author, while an autobiography is written BY the person themselves.

常見錯誤

❌She wrote an autobiography of her grandfather.
✅She wrote a biography of her grandfather.
💡an autobiography is always about the writer themselves, not about another person.
❌His autobiography was written by a journalist.
✅His biography was written by a journalist.' or 'He worked with a journalist on his autobiography.
💡when another author writes the book, it is a biography or a ghostwritten autobiography.

2. the branch of literature that deals with people writing about their own lives, s

2.名詞C1
釋義

the branch of literature that deals with people writing about their own lives, studied as a writing form and genre.

例句

Professor Lin teaches a popular course on women's autobiography at the university.

a course in/on autobiography (uncountable)

Autobiography became a respected literary form during the eighteenth century in Europe.

autobiography as a genre/form

同義詞
  • life writing

    broader academic term covering autobiography, memoir, diaries, and letters

  • self-narrative

    technical term used in literary theory and psychology

文法句型

a course in autobiography

the genre of autobiography

用法筆記

Used as an uncountable noun referring to the genre, not a specific book. Distinguish from sense 1 by the absence of an article and by context: academic, literary, or historical discussion of the writing form rather than a particular volume.

常見錯誤

❌She is interested in an autobiography as a genre.
✅She is interested in autobiography as a genre.
💡when referring to the genre, no article is used.