forensic

1 of 2

adjective

fo·​ren·​sic fə-ˈren(t)-sik  -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

forensically

fə-ˈren(t)-si-k(ə-)lē 

-ˈren-zi-

adverb

forensic

2 of 2

noun

1

: an argumentative exercise

2

forensics fə-ˈren(t)-siks 

-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

Although forensic tools can help the police investigate devices tied to criminal cases, the same hacking tech has allegedly fallen into hands of repressive regimes to spy on dissidents, activists, and journalists. —Michael Kan, PCMAG, 10 Feb. 2025

The forensic pathologist with the city medical examiner's office at the time, Dr. Marlon Osbourne, initially ruled Greenberg's death a homicide in 2011. —Mollie Markowitz, Fox News, 7 Feb. 2025

Noun

Perhaps because of this backlog, the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office has still not received a forensics report from the Department of Justice. —Ariane Lange, Sacramento Bee, 26 Jan. 2025

The change, which was picked up by digital forensics conducted by The Times, was one of the small behind-the scenes-maneuvers that showed how tech companies have diverged in their approach to the TikTok ban. —Sapna Maheshwari, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025

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

Phrases Containing forensic

• forensic odontology

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  -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

Legal 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