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criminalist

criminalist

11 7.5
A person who uses science to collect and test evidence to help solve crimes
  • noun
  • /ˈkrɪmɪnəlɪst/
  • Specialized
translation icon : técnico forense
  • As a leading criminalist, she used advanced techniques to uncover crucial details about the murder.
  • Police criminalists
  • experienced criminalists
  • chief criminalist

Examples

  • Often, the physical evidence the criminalist gathered at the crime scene was enough to narrow the field of suspects, help locate the perpetrator, or obtain a confession from him.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • The criminalist carefully examined the evidence to solve the complex case.

  • A criminalist photographs stolen property as it's carried out of the barn.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • In other testimony, a criminalist with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation testified about DNA evidence.

    Blog text (19)
  • Gathered beneath the overpass are the police, coroner, criminalists, and a local FBI agent.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • He was a perfectionist, and with good cause: when there were no obvious suspects, homicide detectives often relied heavily on the criminalist's interpretation of the scene.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • No doubt sensing the tension, the criminalist excused himself and began the task of documenting the scene by arranging a handful of halogen floodlights a short distance from the bodies.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Working late into the night, the criminalist analyzed fingerprints found at the crime scene.

Synonyms

CSI
vscriminalist
3 4.3

A person who collects and studies physical evidence at crime scenes

focuses on scientific techniques to collect and analyze evidence to solve crimes

How Analytic

profiler
  • Specialized
27 6.1
analyst
355 3.2
criminalist
  • Specialized
11 7.5
investigator
68 3.6
observer
305 2.8

Surface Forms

criminalist singular
criminalists plural

Morphology

criminalist = criminal (transparent) = criminal + ist

Formed by straightforward agentive suffixation: 'criminal' + '-ist' yields a person associated with criminal matters, so the meaning is directly inferable from the base and suffix.

Etymology

Criminalist comes from the word criminal ('someone who breaks the law') plus the ending -ist ('someone who does a certain job'), like in scientist or specialist. So a criminalist is someone who uses science to study evidence and help solve crimes.