18-letter words containing a, d, i, s, o
- deanthropomorphism — the ridding of philosophy or religion of anthropomorphic beliefs and doctrines.
- debt consolidation — the process of taking out a new loan (often secured on one's property) in order to pay off a number of existing debts
- dechristianization — The act of dechristianizing; the systematic removal of Christianity or Christian elements.
- deinstitutionalize — to discharge (a patient) as from a mental institution
- depository library — a library designated by law to receive without charge all or a selection of the official publications of a government.
- desalination plant — a factory where salt is removed from salt water in order to make the water suitable for drinking and irrigation
- dia de los muertos — Day of the Dead.
- diagnostic testing — Diagnostic testing is the testing of a vehicle, or one of its systems or parts, in order to identify why it is not working properly.
- dialytic telescope — a type of achromatic telescope with a second correcting lens
- diaminofluorescein — (organic compound) A fluorescein into which two amino groups have been substituted.
- diastereoisomerism — (chemistry) Any form of stereoisomerism other than enantiomerism.
- diatomaceous earth — an unconsolidated form of diatomite
- didaskaleinophobia — The fear of going to school.
- digital switchover — the process of changing the method of transmitting television from analogue to digital format
- digital television — a television broadcasting technology in which signals are transmitted as a sequence of binary numbers.
- digital video disc — Digital Versatile Disc
- dihydrotachysterol — a white, crystalline, water-insoluble sterol, C 28 H 46 O, derived from ergosterol: used chiefly in the treatment of hypoparathyroidism.
- dimensionalisation — Alternative spelling of dimensionalization.
- dimensionalization — The process of dimensionalizing.
- diphosphoglycerate — an ester of phosphoric acid and glyceric acid that occurs in the blood and that promotes the release of hemoglobin-bound oxygen.
- diplomatic service — diplomatic corps
- diplomatic shuttle — a series of diplomatic visits to other states made by an official, such as an ambassador or envoy
- directional signal — any of four signal lights on the front left, front right, rear left, and rear right of an automotive vehicle that, when actuated by the driver, flash in pairs on the side toward which a turn is to be made.
- disability pension — a pension paid to people who are unable to continue to work because of a disability
- discourse analysis — the study of the rules or patterns characterizing units of connected speech or writing longer than a sentence.
- disidentifications — Plural form of disidentification.
- disodium phosphate — sodium phosphate (def 2).
- dispatch documents — documents sent with a parcel, etc, detailing information such as contents, delivery address, etc
- display postscript — An extended form of PostScript permitting its interactive use with bitmap displays.
- disproportionality — not in proportion; disproportionate.
- disproportionately — not proportionate; out of proportion, as in size or number.
- disproportionation — the simultaneous oxidation and reduction of a substance reacting with itself, thereby forming two dissimilar molecules, as 2C 2 H 4 →C 2 H 6 +C 2 H 2 .
- distance education — education in which students receive instruction over the Internet, from a video, etc., instead of going to school.
- distribution class — form class
- distribution ratio — the ratio of concentrations of a solute distributed between two immiscible solvents in contact with each other, as iodine in water and chloroform
- divine inspiration — insight provided by higher power
- division algorithm — the theorem that an integer can be written as the sum of the product of two integers, one a given positive integer, added to a positive integer smaller than the given positive integer. Compare Euclidean algorithm.
- division of labour — a system of organizing the manufacture of an article in a series of separate specialized operations, each of which is carried out by a different worker or group of workers
- domain name server — (spelling) Domain Name System.
- domain name system — (networking) (DNS) A general-purpose distributed, replicated, data query service chiefly used on Internet for translating hostnames into Internet addresses. Also, the style of hostname used on the Internet, though such a name is properly called a fully qualified domain name. DNS can be configured to use a sequence of name servers, based on the domains in the name being looked for, until a match is found. The name resolution client (e.g. Unix's gethostbyname() library function) can be configured to search for host information in the following order: first in the local hosts file, second in NIS and third in DNS. This sequencing of Naming Services is sometimes called "name service switching". Under Solaris is configured in the file /etc/nsswitch.conf. DNS can be queried interactively using the command nslookup. It is defined in STD 13, RFC 1034, RFC 1035, RFC 1591.
- domestic appliance — a machine used for household tasks, for example, a washing machine, refrigerator, etc.
- donor insemination — a process which involves using sperm which has been voluntarily given for use in the insemination of another person
- drainpipe trousers — trousers with very narrow legs
- driver's education — high-school driving classes
- dwarf storage unit — (humour) (DSU) An IBM term for a cupboard.
- dynamic psychology — any system of psychology that emphasizes the interaction between different motives, emotions, and drives
- dynamically scoped — dynamic scope
- dysfunctionalities — Plural form of dysfunctionality.
- east india company — the company chartered by the English government in 1600 to carry on trade in the East Indies: dissolved in 1874.
- electoral district — an area that is considered as unit for the purposes of an election