19-letter words containing a, c, u, s, o, r
- pseudo-biographical — of or relating to a person's life: He's gathering biographical data for his book on Milton.
- pseudo-conservative — disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
- puerperal psychosis — a mental disorder sometimes occurring in women after childbirth, characterized by deep depression, delusions of the child's death, and homicidal feelings towards the child
- pugwash conferences — international peace conferences of scientists held regularly to discuss world problems: Nobel peace prize 1995 awarded to Joseph Rotblat (1908–2005) , one of the founders of the conferences, secretary-general (1957–73), and president (1988–97)
- quantum electronics — the application of quantum mechanics and quantum optics to the study and design of electronic devices
- quartermaster corps — the branch of the U.S. Army responsible for supplying food, clothing, fuel, and equipment and for the operation of commissaries, laundries, etc.
- radius of curvature — the absolute value of the reciprocal of the curvature at a point on a curve.
- rap on the knuckles — a mild reprimand or light sentence
- regular icosahedron — an icosahedron in which each of the faces is an equilateral triangle
- relational calculus — (database) An operational methodolgy, founded on predicate calculus, dealing with descripitive expressions that are equivalent to the operations of relational algebra. Codd's reduction algorithm can convert from relational calculus to relational algebra. Two forms of the relational calculus exist: the tuple calculus and the domain calculus.
- religious education — religion as school subject
- reserved occupation — in time of war, an occupation from which one will not be called up for military service
- restorative justice — a theory and method in criminal justice in which it is arranged that the victim and the community receive restitution from the offender.
- rhetorical question — a question asked solely to produce an effect or to make an assertion and not to elicit a reply, as “What is so rare as a day in June?”.
- saccharofarinaceous — pertaining to or consisting of sugar and meal.
- sacramento sturgeon — white sturgeon.
- san juan capistrano — a city in SW California: site of old Spanish mission; known for annual return of swallows, said to occur on March 19.
- saturation coverage — news coverage (of an event, etc) that is very thorough in order not to miss any details
- scale down (or up) — to reduce (or increase), often according to a fixed ratio or proportion
- scattersite housing — public housing, especially for low-income families, built throughout an urban area rather than being concentrated in a single neighborhood.
- screen actors guild — a labor union for motion-picture performers, founded in 1933. Abbreviation: SAG.
- secondary education — education at high-school level
- secondary qualities — one of the qualities attributed by the mind to an object perceived, such as color, temperature, or taste.
- secondary structure — the arrangement of a polypeptide into a regular alpha helix, beta structure, or random coil configuration by the formation of intramolecular hydrogen bonds along the length of the chain.
- seleucia tracheotis — an ancient city in SE Asia Minor, on the River Calycadnus (modern Goksu Nehri): captured by the Turks in the 13th century; site of present-day Silifke (Turkey)
- self-congratulating — the expression or feeling of uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's own accomplishment, good fortune, etc.; complacency.
- self-congratulation — the expression or feeling of uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's own accomplishment, good fortune, etc.; complacency.
- self-congratulatory — the expression or feeling of uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's own accomplishment, good fortune, etc.; complacency.
- semiconductor laser — a laser in which a semiconductor is the light-emitting source, used in many medical procedures.
- senatorial courtesy — the practice in the U.S. Senate of confirming only those presidential appointees approved by both senators from the state of the appointee, or by the senior senator of the president's party.
- sexual inter-course — genital contact, especially the insertion of the penis into the vagina followed by orgasm; coitus; copulation.
- sexual reproduction — reproduction involving the union of gametes.
- sharp-focus realism — photorealism.
- slate-colored junco — the eastern subspecies of the dark-eyed junco, Junco hyemalis, having grayer plumage than the several western subspecies.
- smokestack industry — A smokestack industry is a traditional industry such as heavy engineering or manufacturing, rather than a modern industry such as electronics.
- social security act — a law passed in 1935 providing old-age retirement insurance, a federal-state program of unemployment compensation, and federal grants for state welfare programs.
- south african dutch — the Boers.
- south san francisco — a city in central California.
- southern crab apple — a tree, Malus angustifolia, of the eastern U.S., having oblong leaves, fragrant, pink or rose-colored flowers, and small, round, yellow-green fruit.
- specular reflection — Specular reflection is reflection of heat or light in which the angles of different parts of the surface are important.
- stationery cupboard — a cupboard where things like paper, pens and paper clips are kept
- subtractive process — a process of color photography in which the colors are formed by combination of cyan, yellow, and magenta lights.
- synchronous machine — an alternating-current machine in which the average speed of normal operation is exactly proportional to the frequency of the system to which it is connected.
- take one's cue from — If you take your cue from someone or something, you do something similar in a particular situation.
- telescopic umbrella — an umbrella having parts that telescope
- theological virtues — one of the three graces: faith, hope, or charity, infused into the human intellect and will by a special grace of God.
- to clutch at straws — If you are clutching at straws or grasping at straws, you are trying unusual or extreme ideas or methods because other ideas or methods have failed.
- to rack your brains — If you rack your brains, you try very hard to think of something.
- traffic regulations — rules designed to expedite the flow of traffic and prevent collisions
- training instructor — a person who teaches people the skills they need for a particular field or profession