-ˈren-zik
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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
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
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
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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
Phrases Containing forensic
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.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
forensic
adjectiveAdjective
from Latin forensis "of a forum, public," from forum "market, place of public discussion, court"
Medical Definition
forensic
adjective
-ˈren-zik
Kathy L. Hudson, The New England Journal of Medicine
Legal Definition
forensic
adjective
Adjective
Latin forensis public, forensic, from forum forum
More from Merriam-Webster on forensic
Nglish: Translation of forensic for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of forensic for Arabic Speakers
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