English

Alternative forms

• forensick (obsolete)

Adjective

forensic ‎(not comparable)

1. Relating to the use of science and technology in the investigation and establishment of facts or evidence in a court of law.
   • 2012 August 21, Pilkington, Ed, “Death penalty on trial: should Reggie Clemons live or die?”, in The Guardian:

     In this account of events, the cards were stacked against Clemons from the beginning. His appeal lawyers have argued that he was physically beaten into making a confession, the jury was wrongfully selected and misdirected, and his conviction largely achieved on individual testimony with no supporting forensic evidence presented.

   • 1996, 8 June, Bill Clinton, Weekly Presidential radio Address,

     Fire investigators […] and forensic chemists are combing through fire sites [the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing], interviewing witnesses, and following leads.

2. (dated) Relating to, or appropriate for, courts of law.
   • 1885, Isaac N. Arnold, The Life of Abraham Lincoln, Chapter VIII,

     It [the judiciary] had been the forum before which the highest forensic discussions had been held, […]

3. (archaic) Relating to, or used in, debate or argument.
   • 1851, Edward Shepherd Creasy, The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World, Chapter V,

     Varus trusted implicitly […] to the interest which they affected to take in the forensic eloquence of their conquerors.

Synonyms

• (Related or appropriate for a court of law): legal
• (Related or used in debate and argumentation): rhetorical

Derived terms

Related terms

• forensal
• forensive

Translations

Anagrams

• conifers
• forinsec
• fornices
• inforces