Meaning & use
criminology
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
The scientific study of crime, criminals, and the criminal justice system.
Grammar: Uncountable; used without 'a' or plural: study criminology, not study a criminology.
Patterns
- study criminology
- a degree in criminology
- criminology research
She decided to study criminology because she wanted to understand why people commit crimes.
The university offers a master's degree in criminology.
His research in criminology focuses on juvenile offenders.
Common combinations
- study criminology
- He plans to study criminology at university next year.
- degree in criminology
- She has a degree in criminology and works for the police.
- criminology research
- The government funded new criminology research to improve prison policies.
- professor of criminology
- The professor of criminology gave a lecture on youth gangs.
Synonyms and how they differ
- penology
- Penology is specifically the study of punishment and prison systems, a narrower field than criminology.
- criminalistics
- Criminalistics is the scientific analysis of physical evidence, not the broader study of crime causes.
Word family
- criminologist noun
- A person who studies crime and criminals.
- criminological adjective
- Relating to criminology.
- criminologically adverb
- In a manner related to criminology.
Commonly confused: criminology or criminality?
criminology vs criminality
Criminality means the state of being criminal or criminal behavior, not the academic study of crime.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'criminology' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Criminology is the academic study of crime, so 'studying criminology' is correct. Option 2 confuses it with forensic science. Option 3 is wrong because criminology is not a crime. Option 4 is nonsensical.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “criminology”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.