16-letter words containing a, d, i, p
- departure signal — a piece of equipment beside a railway which indicates to train drivers whether they should depart or not
- dephlogisticated — Simple past tense and past participle of dephlogisticate.
- depleted uranium — Depleted uranium is a type of uranium that is used in some bombs.
- depoliticization — The act or process of depoliticizing.
- depolymerisation — (chemistry) alternative spelling of depolymerization.
- depolymerization — (chemistry) The decomposition of a polymer into smaller fragments.
- depression glass — cheap glassware mass-produced during the Depression of the 1930s, usually molded in patterns in pale colors, and collectible since the early 1970s
- depressurization — to remove the air pressure from (a pressurized compartment of an aircraft or spacecraft).
- developmentalism — An economic theory which states that the best way for Third World countries to develop is through fostering a strong and varied internal market and to impose high tariffs on imported goods.
- developmentalist — an expert in or advocate of developmental psychology.
- developmentation — (proscribed, chiefly, US, and, humorous) Development.
- dew-point spread — the degrees of difference between the air temperature and the dew point
- diacetylmorphine — heroin.
- diagonal process — a form of argument in which a new member of a set is constructed from a list of its known members by making the nth term of the new member differ from the nth term of the nth member. The new member is thus different from every member of the list
- diazoamino group — the divalent group –N=NNH–.
- digital computer — a computer that processes information in digital form.
- digital envelope — (cryptography)
- diphosphorylated — (biochemistry) phosphorylated with two units of phosphoric acid.
- diphthongisation — The process by which a single vowel sound (monophthong) shifts to a two-vowel vocalization (diphthong).
- diphthongization — to change into or pronounce as a diphthong.
- diplomatic corps — the entire body of diplomats accredited to and resident at a court or capital.
- diplomatic pouch — a sealed mailbag containing diplomatic correspondence that is sent free of inspection between a foreign office and its diplomatic or consular post abroad or from one such post to another.
- disappearing act — magic trick
- discographically — In terms of discography.
- disincorporation — to remove from an incorporated state or status.
- dispersal prison — a prison organized and equipped to accommodate a proportion of the most dangerous and highest security risk prisoners
- dispersing agent — a surface-active substance added to a suspension, usually a colloid, to improve the separation of particles and to prevent settling or clumping
- displaced person — a person driven or expelled from his or her homeland by war, famine, tyranny, etc. Abbreviation: DP, D.P.
- displacement ton — a unit for measuring the displacement of a vessel, equal to a long ton of 2240 pounds (1016 kg) or 35 cu. ft. (1 cu. m) of seawater.
- display standard — (hardware, standard) IBM and others have introduced a bewildering plethora of graphics and text display standards for IBM PCs. The standards are mostly implemented by plugging in a video display board (or "graphics adaptor") and connecting the appropriate monitor to it. Each new standard subsumes its predecessors. For example, an EGA board can also do CGA and MDA. With the PS/2, IBM introduced the VGA standard and built it into the main system board motherboard. VGA is also available as a plug-in board for PCs from third-party vendors. Also with the PS/2, IBM introduced the 8514 high-resolution graphics standard. An 8514 adaptor board plugs into the PS/2, providing a dual-monitor capability. Graphics software had to support the major IBM graphics standards and many non-IBM, proprietary standards for displays. Either software vendors provided display drivers or display vendors provided drivers for the software package. In either case, switching software or switching display systems was fraught with compatibility problems. More colours are available from third-party vendors for some display types. See also MDA, CGA, EGA, PGA, Hercules, MCGA, VGA, SVGA, 8514, VESA.
- display terminal — Visual Display Unit
- disposable goods — consumer goods that are used up a short time after purchase, including perishables, newspapers, clothes, etc
- disproportionate — not proportionate; out of proportion, as in size or number.
- disputatiousness — The state or quality of being disputatious or argumentative; contentiousness.
- disreputableness — The state or quality of being disreputable or disgraceful; disreputability.
- diurnal parallax — the apparent displacement of an observed object due to a change in the position of the observer.
- dolichocephalism — (medicine) The quality or condition of being dolichocephalic.
- dollar diplomacy — a government policy of promoting the business interests of its citizens in other countries.
- domestic partner — either member of an unmarried, cohabiting, and especially homosexual couple that seeks benefits usually available only to spouses.
- domestic prelate — an honorary distinction conferred by the Holy See upon clergy, entitling them to some of the privileges of a bishop.
- double pneumonia — pneumonia affecting both lungs.
- dual citizenship — Also called dual nationality. the status of a person who is a legal citizen of two or more countries.
- dual personality — a disorder in which an individual possesses two dissociated personalities.
- dublin bay prawn — a large prawn usually used in a dish of scampi
- duplessis-mornay — Philippe [fee-leep] /fiˈlip/ (Show IPA), Mornay, Philippe de.
- duplicate bridge — a form of contract bridge used in tournaments in which contestants play the identical series of deals, with each deal being scored independently, permitting individual scores to be compared.
- dutch guinea pig — a breed of two-tone short-haired guinea pig
- dynamic response — The dynamic response of a machine, structure, or process is how it reacts over time to something that is done to it.
- earthly paradise — Bible: Garden of Eden
- eastern whipbird — an Australian whipbird, Psophodes olivaceus