forensic

adjective

fo·ren·sic | \ fə-ˈren(t)-sik

Definition of forensic

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

forensic

noun

Definition of forensic (Entry 2 of 2)

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)

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Examples of forensic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

The remains of at least 26,000 people are in government custody at forensic institutions across Mexico, waiting to be identified. — Amy Guthrie, The Seattle Times, "No ‘financial ceiling’ in search for missing in Mexico," 24 Mar. 2019 The House Intelligence Committee has sought to bolster its investigative staff with financial and forensic accounting experts, part of an expansion of the Trump-Russia probe since Democrats gained control of the chamber. — Greg Miller, The Seattle Times, "House Intelligence chairman voices concern that Mueller’s scrutiny of Trump’s finances isn’t adequate," 10 Feb. 2019 His business is not known for conducting big forensic investigations. — Rose Minutaglio, Town & Country, "How Exactly Did The National Enquirer Get Those Private Jeff Bezos Texts?," 9 Feb. 2019 Audience obsession over the romantic lives of celebrities spans across popular media, whether there’s gossip about Drake’s latest fling or forensic investigations of the latest Taylor Swift album for evidence of new flames. — Patricia Hernandez, The Verge, "For women on Twitch, disclosing their relationship status is a minefield," 8 Aug. 2018 Privacy - Terms Read More Officials searching for person of interest after 3 found shot dead in NC home More forensic investigation will be completed to determine if the body is Powell, the sheriff's office said. — Joe Marusak, charlotteobserver, "Body found in woods believed to be man wanted in North Carolina triple homicide," 15 June 2018 The itinerant nature of DNA has serious implications for forensic investigations. — Katie Worth, WIRED, "Framed for Murder By His Own DNA," 19 Apr. 2018 He's led a narcotics task force, a forensic investigations unit and a gang activity unit. — Naperville Sun, "Letters to the editor: VFW post more than just a building, Bibbiano has qualifications for DuPage sheriff," 15 Mar. 2018 But as with the killing of Litvinenko in 2006, even the most intensive forensic investigation of the attempt on Skripal is unlikely to yield any leads that link the attack directly to the Kremlin. — Owen Matthews, Newsweek, "Has Vladimir Putin Lost Control of Russia’s Assassins?," 12 Mar. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The West forensics team won state nine out of the 10 years before Shipley retired. — Katy Bergen, kansascity, "Shawnee Mission West's star maker: Meet the teacher who inspired Rudd and Sudeikis," 29 May 2018 The allegations are backed up by data collected from service provider logs, Bitcoin transaction tracing, and additional forensics. — Sean Gallagher, Ars Technica, "How they did it (and will likely try again): GRU hackers vs. US elections," 27 July 2018 At a conference of law-enforcement forensics officials last week, someone asked David Miles what would happen if Apple Inc. — Robert Mcmillan, WSJ, "Meet Apple’s Security Headache: The GrayKey, a Startup’s iPhone-Hacking Box," 14 June 2018 Cuba’s chief forensics official, Jorge Gonzalez, said all families had been contacted and asked to provide blood and objects such as photographs and toothbrushes that could be used in identifications. — Washington Post, "Cubans mourn plane crash dead, officials ID 20 bodies," 20 May 2018 The spokesman said team members included a forensics expert tasked with covering up evidence in the event force had to be used against Mr. Khashoggi. — Ian Talley, WSJ, "Saudis to Seek Death Penalty in Khashoggi Killing," 15 Nov. 2018 And an Illinois State Police forensics expert has testified about bullets and shell casings found at the scene, which all came from the same gun. — Fox News, "The Latest: Jury views photos of Laquan McDonald's wounds," 19 Sep. 2018 No longer were forensics experts in oversize hazmat suits combing the area for an invisible killer developed by the Soviet Union in Cold War times. — Washington Post, "UK town faces new reality: Another nerve agent poisoning," 6 July 2018 The resulting report, entitled NFPA 921, was not welcomed by the forensics community in any way whatsoever, with seasoned investigators balking at the idea of admitting their shortcomings. — Maude Campbell, Popular Mechanics, "The 1991 Firestorm That Changed Everything We Thought We Knew About Arson," 8 Nov. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'forensic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

9 Apr 2019

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Time Traveler for forensic

The first known use of forensic was in 1659

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More Definitions for forensic

forensic

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of forensic

law

: relating to the use of scientific knowledge or methods in solving crimes

somewhat formal : relating to, used in, or suitable to a court of law

See the full definition for forensic in the English Language Learners Dictionary

forensic

adjective

fo·ren·sic | \ fə-ˈren(t)-sik

, -ˈren-zik

Medical Definition of forensic

: 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, 15 Sept. 2011

forensic

adjective

fo·ren·sic | \ fə-ˈren-sik, -zik

Legal Definition of forensic

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