polygraph
noun
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With its graph- root, polygraph indicates that it writes out several different results. A polygraph's output consists of a set of squiggly lines on a computer screen, each indicating one function being tested. The functions most commonly measured are blood pressure, breathing rate, pulse, and perspiration, all of which tend to increase when you lie. Polygraphs have been in use since 1924, and have gotten more sensitive over the years, though many experts still believe that they're unreliable and that a prepared liar can fool the machine. They're used not only for law enforcement but perhaps more often by employers--often the police department itself!--who don't want to hire someone who has broken the law in the past but won't admit to it.
Examples of polygraph in a Sentence
Jessica Sager, Peoplemag, 20 June 2024
Eventually, Keith successfully passed a polygraph test, and investigators cleared him of any suspicion.
—Rachel Brodsky, TIME, 18 June 2024
Then Bay County Sheriff John Miller told the Free Press Powell had twice failed a polygraph test, including the day before the search.
—John Wisely, Detroit Free Press, 27 May 2024
Shoddy but widely reported experiments in the 1970s claimed to show humanlike behaviors in plants, such as enjoying Beethoven and responding to polygraph tests.
—David George Haskell, Scientific American, 16 Apr. 2024
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“Polygraph.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polygraph. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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