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16-letter words containing a, d, n

  • 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
  • dialysis machine — device: kidney treatment
  • diamond district — the part of a town where diamond merchants and jewellers have their businesses
  • diamond drilling — drilling using a drill with a diamond-impregnated bit
  • diamondback moth — a small moth Plutella xylostella that has diamond-shaped markings on the underside of its front wings that are visible when the wings are folded
  • diazoamino group — the divalent group –N=NNH–.
  • dictionary flame — [Usenet] An attempt to sidetrack a debate away from issues by insisting on meanings for key terms that presuppose a desired conclusion or smuggle in an implicit premise. A common tactic of people who prefer argument over definitions to disputes about reality. Compare spelling flame.
  • dictionary-maker — a person who compiles a dictionary
  • diethyl carbinol — a colorless, liquid isomer of amyl alcohol, (CH3CH2)2CHOH, used in drugs and as a solvent
  • digital envelope — (cryptography)  
  • dihydroxyacetone — (organic compound) The compound CO(CH2OH)2 that has a number of industrial uses.
  • dimethoxymethane — methylal.
  • dimethylcarbinol — isopropyl alcohol.
  • dinosaurs mating — (humour)   The activity said to occur when yet another big iron merger or buy-out occurs; reflects a perception by hackers that these signal another stage in the long, slow dying of the mainframe industry. Also described as "elephants mating": lots of noise and action at a high level, with an eventual outcome in the somewhat distant future. In its glory days of the 1960s, it was "IBM and the Seven Dwarves": Burroughs, Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and Univac. Early on, RCA sold out to Univac and GE also sold out, and it was "IBM and the BUNCH" (an acronym for Burroughs, Univac, NCR, Control Data, and Honeywell) for a while. Honeywell was bought out by Bull. Univac in turn merged with Sperry to form Sperry/Univac, which was later merged (although the employees of Sperry called it a hostile takeover) with Burroughs to form Unisys in 1986 (this was when the phrase "dinosaurs mating" was coined). In 1991 AT&T absorbed NCR, only to spit it out again in 1996. Unisys bought Convergent Technologies in 1988 and later others. More such earth-shaking unions of doomed giants seem inevitable.
  • 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.
  • direct marketing — marketing direct to the consumer, as by direct mail or coupon advertising.
  • director general — the executive head of an organization or of a major subdivision, as a branch or agency, of government.
  • director-general — the executive head of an organization or of a major subdivision, as a branch or agency, of government.
  • disaccreditation — to take away the accreditation or authorization of: to disaccredit a diplomat.
  • disagreeableness — (uncountable) The state or quality of being disagreeable.
  • disappearing act — magic trick
  • discharging arch — an arch for taking some of the weight from a structural member beneath it.
  • disclosing agent — a vegetable dye, administered as a liquid or in tablet form (disclosing tablet), that stains plaque, making it readily apparent on the teeth
  • discombobulating — Present participle of discombobulate.
  • discombobulation — to confuse or disconcert; upset; frustrate: The speaker was completely discombobulated by the hecklers.
  • disconsolateness — (uncountable) The state of being disconsolate; gloom.
  • discountenancing — Present participle of discountenance.
  • discriminability — The condition of being discriminable.
  • discriminatingly — With discrimination.
  • discriminatorily — characterized by or showing prejudicial treatment, especially as an indication of bias related to age, color, national origin, religion, sex, etc.: discriminatory practices in housing; a discriminatory tax.
  • discussion board — a website or section of a website that is used for public discussion of a specific topic and on which users can submit or read messages: You should post your questions on a parenting message board and get support from other parents.
  • disembarrassment — Freedom or relief from impediment or perplexity.
  • disenfranchising — Present participle of disenfranchise.
  • disequilibration — to put out of equilibrium; unbalance: A period of high inflation could disequilibrate the monetary system.
  • disestablishment — to deprive of the character of being established; cancel; abolish.
  • disfranchisement — to deprive (a person) of a right of citizenship, as of the right to vote.
  • dishonorableness — The property of being dishonorable.
  • 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
  • disproportionate — not proportionate; out of proportion, as in size or number.
  • disputatiousness — The state or quality of being disputatious or argumentative; contentiousness.
  • disqualification — an act or instance of disqualifying.
  • disreputableness — The state or quality of being disreputable or disgraceful; disreputability.
  • dissatisfactions — Plural form of dissatisfaction.
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