forensic

1 of 2

adjective

fo·​ren·​sic fə-ˈren(t)-sik How to pronounce forensic (audio) -ˈren-zik How to pronounce forensic (audio)
1
: belonging to, used in, or suitable to courts of judicature or to public discussion and debate
a lawyer's forensic skills
2
: argumentative, rhetorical
forensic eloquence
3
: relating to or dealing with the application of scientific knowledge to legal problems
forensic medicine
forensic science
forensic pathologist
forensic experts
forensically adverb

forensic

2 of 2

noun

1
: an argumentative exercise
2
forensics plural in form but singular or plural in construction : the art or study of argumentative discourse
3
forensics plural in form but singular or plural in construction : the application of scientific knowledge to legal problems
especially : scientific analysis of physical evidence (as from a crime scene)

Did you know?

The noun forensic, meaning “an argumentative exercise” derives from the adjective forensic, whose earliest meaning in English is “belonging to, used in, or suitable to courts or to public discussion and debate.” The English word was derived from a Latin word forensic meaning “of the market place or form, public,” which in turn comes from the Latin word forum, meaning “market place, forum.”

Examples of forensic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Experts have said the lack of standardization required by other forensic disciplines, such as DNA testing, has led to the lung float test producing inaccurate results. Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica, 28 Nov. 2023 That profile was then sent to the forensic genealogy team. Stephanie Nolasco, Fox News, 26 Nov. 2023 In 2018, the department hired the DNA Doe Project, a volunteer organization, to conduct forensic investigative genetic genealogy to further develop the unidentified teenager’s DNA profile, according to the release. Kc Baker, Peoplemag, 20 Nov. 2023 Weiss’ body was identified in a process by the medical personnel and institute of forensic medicine and the Israel Police. NBC News, 16 Nov. 2023 Darby, our lens into this rarefied world, learned a lot about dead bodies from her father (Neal Huff), a forensic pathologist, and spent her youth collaborating with like-minded detectives on Reddit and other forums trying to identify Jane Does that seem like homicides. Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 13 Nov. 2023 The methods utilize techniques associated with digital forensic investigation — and are often custom developed by investigators tasked with finding more information. Essence, 9 Nov. 2023 The study published Monday, Tseng said, grew out of a broader, decade-long collaboration between himself and Dr. Ellen Moffatt, a forensic pathologist in the San Francisco chief medical examiner’s office, in an effort to study sudden deaths that occur outside hospital settings in the county. Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2023 At a presentation during Paris Fashion Week, the duo also showed off X-Ray, a sinuous hard-shell style coated in a heat-reactive material intended for the forensic measurement of car temperatures. Amy Verner, Vogue, 16 Nov. 2023
Noun
Prosecutors allege that Powell conspired with Hall and others to access election equipment without authorization and hired computer forensics firm SullivanStrickler to send a team to Coffee County, in south Georgia, to copy software and data from voting machines and computers there. Kate Brumback, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2023 But forensics will be needed to confirm the identity. Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 13 Nov. 2023 Digital forensics experts have verified that at least some of those emails were authentic but much remains unknown about the origins of the files. Kevin Collier, NBC News, 10 Nov. 2023 The motivation of the bad actor doesn’t emerge just from code forensics. Sarah Scoles, Popular Science, 2 Nov. 2023 The forensics center was not available to comment when reached by PEOPLE. Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 28 Oct. 2023 All items were released Wednesday to a computer forensics auditing firm hired by the newspaper’s attorney, after the local prosecutor concluded there wasn’t enough evidence to justify their seizure. John Hanna and Heather Hollingsworth, Anchorage Daily News, 19 Aug. 2023 Often, the finger-pointing part won’t come from technical forensics, but from other kinds of intelligence that, conveniently, the intelligence community running this program would have access to. Sarah Scoles, Popular Science, 2 Nov. 2023 The film is very good at laying out the forensics of the case, but Triet is after something larger. Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Oct. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'forensic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Noun

Latin forensis public, forensic, from forum forum

First Known Use

Adjective

1659, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1844, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of forensic was in 1659

Dictionary Entries Near forensic

Cite this Entry

“Forensic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forensic. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

forensic

adjective
fo·​ren·​sic
fə-ˈren(t)-sik,
-ˈren-zik
: belonging to, used in, or suitable to courts of law or to public discussion and debate
forensically
-si-k(ə-)lē
-zi-
adverb
Etymology

Adjective

from Latin forensis "of a forum, public," from forum "market, place of public discussion, court"

Medical Definition

forensic

adjective
fo·​ren·​sic fə-ˈren(t)-sik How to pronounce forensic (audio) -ˈren-zik How to pronounce forensic (audio)
: relating to or dealing with the application of scientific knowledge to legal problems especially in regard to criminal evidence
a forensic pathologist
forensic experts
… a forensic technique of DNA analysis allows for the determination of whether a subject with a specific genetic profile has contributed to aggregate genomic data.Kathy L. Hudson, The New England Journal of Medicine

Legal Definition

forensic

adjective
fo·​ren·​sic fə-ˈren-sik, -zik How to pronounce forensic (audio)
1
: belonging to, used in, or suitable to the courts or to public discussion and debate
2
: relating to or dealing with the application of scientific knowledge (as of medicine or linguistics) to legal problems
forensic pathology
forensic experts
forensically adverb
Etymology

Adjective

Latin forensis public, forensic, from forum forum

More from Merriam-Webster on forensic

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