fo·ren·sic
fə-ˈren(t)-sik 
-ˈren-zik
-ˈren-zik
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
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
John Blake, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
Scheck wanted to bring in a lawyer who would focus on the forensic evidence.
—Ariane Lange, Sacramento Bee, 11 Apr. 2024
Prior also said a forensic pathologist will testify that there was no way to determine Tamara Daybell's cause of death.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2024
Trying to pin down apps’ ownership structures and financial influences would require regulators to become forensic accountants.
—Aynne Kokas, Foreign Affairs, 3 Apr. 2024
The department reexamined the case in 2022, hoping that new forensic technology would help reach a breakthrough.
—Tyrone Beason, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2024
Led by a former chief justice of Maine's highest court, the commission also included a former U.S. attorney and the former chief forensic psychologist for the state.
—CBS News, 15 Mar. 2024
But the forensic evidence didn’t link Padilla-Padilla to the murder — and a gun was never recovered, Achille states in the memo.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 29 Mar. 2024
Among other quarrels with the way the case was tried, the use of blockchain forensic evidence will form part of the basis for Sterlingov’s appeal.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 27 Mar. 2024
Karen Matthews, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2024
In the end, the effort to cast doubt over the reliability of blockchain forensics bore no fruit for the defense.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 27 Mar. 2024
In the realm of forensics, investigators occasionally come upon a crime scene with DNA evidence, such as blood or sperm, but no specific suspects.
—Eric Levenson, CNN, 28 Feb. 2024
The case was reopened in 2020 because of changes in DNA forensics, and investigators sent the fingerprint to an FBI liaison officer in Berlin for analysis on suspicion that the murderer was an American soldier.
—Greg Wehner, Fox News, 20 Feb. 2024
The working group was one of the main outcomes of that sitdown, and it was quickly followed by the U.S. lifting sanctions on a Chinese government forensics laboratory in return for Beijing’s promise to clamp down on the fentanyl trade.
—Bloomberg, Orange County Register, 31 Jan. 2024
Kenn White, an independent security researcher specializing in digital forensics, agreed that what Chinese authorities disclosed about their hack is consistent with what the German researchers found.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2024
None of the errors involved Tempe's forensics team wrongly identifying a suspect, according to the memo.
—Sam Kmack, The Arizona Republic, 12 Jan. 2024
The practice began with hobbyists interested in learning about their family histories but in recent years has expanded into the world of forensics to try to solve cold cases and other violent crimes.
—Eric Levenson, CNN, 28 Feb. 2024
Adjective
The prosecution in the Simpson murder trial thought their case was a slam dunk, with strong forensic evidence tying Simpson to the killings.
—John Blake, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
Scheck wanted to bring in a lawyer who would focus on the forensic evidence.
—Ariane Lange, Sacramento Bee, 11 Apr. 2024
Prior also said a forensic pathologist will testify that there was no way to determine Tamara Daybell's cause of death.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2024
Trying to pin down apps’ ownership structures and financial influences would require regulators to become forensic accountants.
—Aynne Kokas, Foreign Affairs, 3 Apr. 2024
The department reexamined the case in 2022, hoping that new forensic technology would help reach a breakthrough.
—Tyrone Beason, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2024
Led by a former chief justice of Maine's highest court, the commission also included a former U.S. attorney and the former chief forensic psychologist for the state.
—CBS News, 15 Mar. 2024
But the forensic evidence didn’t link Padilla-Padilla to the murder — and a gun was never recovered, Achille states in the memo.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 29 Mar. 2024
Among other quarrels with the way the case was tried, the use of blockchain forensic evidence will form part of the basis for Sterlingov’s appeal.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 27 Mar. 2024
Noun
Jerome Greco, supervising attorney of the digital forensics unit at the Legal Aid Society, said gun detection systems can trigger false alarms and cause panic.
—Karen Matthews, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2024
In the end, the effort to cast doubt over the reliability of blockchain forensics bore no fruit for the defense.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 27 Mar. 2024
In the realm of forensics, investigators occasionally come upon a crime scene with DNA evidence, such as blood or sperm, but no specific suspects.
—Eric Levenson, CNN, 28 Feb. 2024
The case was reopened in 2020 because of changes in DNA forensics, and investigators sent the fingerprint to an FBI liaison officer in Berlin for analysis on suspicion that the murderer was an American soldier.
—Greg Wehner, Fox News, 20 Feb. 2024
The working group was one of the main outcomes of that sitdown, and it was quickly followed by the U.S. lifting sanctions on a Chinese government forensics laboratory in return for Beijing’s promise to clamp down on the fentanyl trade.
—Bloomberg, Orange County Register, 31 Jan. 2024
Kenn White, an independent security researcher specializing in digital forensics, agreed that what Chinese authorities disclosed about their hack is consistent with what the German researchers found.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2024
None of the errors involved Tempe's forensics team wrongly identifying a suspect, according to the memo.
—Sam Kmack, The Arizona Republic, 12 Jan. 2024
The practice began with hobbyists interested in learning about their family histories but in recent years has expanded into the world of forensics to try to solve cold cases and other violent crimes.
—Eric Levenson, CNN, 28 Feb. 2024
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.
Dictionary Entries Near forensic
Cite this Entry
“Forensic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forensic. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
forensic
adjective
fo·ren·sic
fə-ˈren(t)-sik
-ˈren-zik
-ˈren-zik
: 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
Kathy L. Hudson, The New England Journal of MedicineLegal Definition
forensic
adjective
fo·ren·sic
fə-ˈren-sik, -zik
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
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