seismology

noun

seis·​mol·​o·​gy sīz-ˈmä-lə-jē 

sīs-

: a science that deals with earthquakes and with artificially produced vibrations of the earth

seismological

ˌsīz-mə-ˈlä-ji-kəl 

ˌsīs-

adjective

or less commonly seismologic

ˌsīz-mə-ˈlä-jik 

ˌsīs-

seismologist

sīz-ˈmä-lə-jist 

sīs-

noun

Examples of seismology in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In fact, the Tōhoku quake is considered the most powerful to ever hit Japan, and the fourth most powerful earthquake ever recorded, since seismology record keeping began in 1900. —New Atlas, 23 Dec. 2025

Still, Adam Pascale, a chief scientist at the Centre, told the publication that seismology is not just about how loud the concert was to the ear. —Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2025

Phivolcs, the Philippine seismology agency, showed dozens of smaller aftershocks and quakes over the last few days. —Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with seismology professor John Vidale on the impacts and hazards of earthquakes, Earth structure, and volcanos. —Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 7 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

1858, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for seismology

• anthology
• apology
• astrology
• biology
• christology
• chronology
• conchology
• cosmology
• cryptology
• cytology
• doxology
• ecology

Kids Definition

seismology

noun

seis·​mol·​o·​gy sīz-ˈmäl-ə-jē 

sīs-

: a science that deals with earthquakes and with artificially produced vibrations of the earth

seismological

ˌsīz-mə-ˈläj-i-kəl 

ˌsīs-

adjective

seismologist

sīz-ˈmäl-ə-jəst 

sīs-

noun