criminology

noun/ˌkrɪmɪˈnɑlədʒi/

Frequency rank: #13,016 of 20,003 in the WORDED list (wordfreq data)

Meaning

The scientific study of crime, its causes, and criminal behavior.

Illustration for the English word “criminology”

Example sentence

She decided to study criminology at university because she wanted to understand why people commit crimes.

Synonyms & related words

  • penology

More words in ranks 13,001–13,100