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Synonyms

social science

American  

noun

  1. the study of society and social behavior.

  2. a science or field of study, as history, economics, etc., dealing with an aspect of society or forms of social activity.


social science British  

noun

  1. the study of society and of the relationship of individual members within society, including economics, history, political science, psychology, anthropology, and sociology

  2. any of these subjects studied individually

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

social science Scientific  
/ sō′shəl /
  1. Any of various disciplines that study human society and social relationships, including sociology, psychology, anthropology, economics, political science, and history.


social science Cultural  
  1. The study of how groups of people behave, often in an effort to predict how they will behave in the future. The social sciences include economics, anthropology, sociology, political science, and aspects of psychology and history.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of social science

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

This class, which is significantly less rigorous than AP Computer Science, does seem to enroll more girls and more black and Hispanic students and is more like a social science.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Many humanities and social science majors — pursued by students with a passion for sociology, history, art, music and English — tend to earn far less, around $40,000 to $60,000, the data show.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

He became crown prince in 1957, and studied social science, history and economics at Balliol College in Oxford from 1960 to 1962.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

But as public policy and law and social science experts, we believe students aren’t protesting for a very simple reason: They are afraid.

From Salon ● May 28, 2026

To make a lesson integrated, it is necessary to include social science or history goals and objectives as well as musical information, goals and objectives.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

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