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 fə-ˈren(t)-siks How to pronounce forensic (audio)
-ˈren-ziks
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
Observability is the forensic lab collecting and analyzing evidence (telemetry data) using advanced tools and techniques. Ranjan Parthasarathy, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2024 But forensic advancements allowed cold case investigators to tie Fuller’s DNA to the crimes, according to GBN. Sean Neumann, People.com, 20 Oct. 2024
Noun
Once the warrant is granted, digital forensics experts use specialized tools to extract the search data from the device or from cloud services linked to the device. Lars Daniel, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2024 Search and rescue team members were then able to locate him using cell phone forensics. David Chiu, People.com, 1 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for forensic 

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 4 Nov. 2024.

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!