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19-letter words containing a, e, r, o

  • alternative history — a genre of fiction in which the author speculates on how the course of history might have been altered if a particular historical event had had a different outcome
  • alternative society — a society or social group that espouses values different from those of the established social order.
  • aluminium hydroxide — a white crystalline powder derived from bauxite and used in the manufacture of glass and ceramics, aluminium and its salts, and in dyeing. Formula: Al(OH)3 or Al2O3.3H2O
  • ambassador-at-large — an ambassador with special duties who may be sent to more than one government
  • american book award — any of several awards given annually since 1980 to an author whose book is judged the best in its category: administered by the Association of American Publishers. Abbreviation: ABA, A.B.A.
  • american directoire — a style of American furniture making and related crafts from c1805 to c1815, corresponding to the French Directoire and English Regency styles.
  • american revolution — a sequence of actions by American colonists from 1763 to 1775 protesting British domination and culminating in the Revolutionary War
  • american smoke tree — a small tree, Cotinus obovatus, of the cashew family, of the central southern U.S., having yellowish flowers and clusters of fleshy fruit with silky plumes.
  • ammonium bifluoride — a white, crystalline, water-soluble, poisonous solid, NH 4 HF 2 , used chiefly for cleaning and sterilizing brewing and dairy equipment.
  • anaerobic digestion — the conversion of biodegradable waste matter into compost in the absence of oxygen
  • analytical geometry — the branch of geometry that uses algebraic notation and analysis to locate a geometric point in terms of a coordinate system; coordinate geometry
  • androuet du cerceau — Androuet [ahn-droo-e] /ɑ̃ druˈɛ/ (Show IPA), Androuet du Cerceau.
  • angels-on-horseback — a savoury of oysters wrapped in bacon slices and served on toast
  • angioneurotic edema — swelling that occurs just beneath the surface of the skin or mucous membranes.
  • angle of depression — depression (def 11).
  • angle of reflection — the angle that a beam of reflected radiation makes with the normal to a surface at the point of reflection
  • angle of refraction — the angle that a refracted beam of radiation makes with the normal to the surface between two media at the point of refraction
  • anno urbis conditae — in a (specified) year from the founding of the city: the ancient Romans reckoned dates from Rome's founding, c. 753 b.c.
  • answerphone message — a pre-recorded message that is left on an answering machine, usually inviting callers to leave a message
  • anterograde amnesia — amnesia caused by brain damage in which the memory loss relates to events occurring after the damage
  • anthropic principle — the cosmological theory that the presence of life in the universe limits the ways in which the very early universe could have evolved
  • anthropocentrically — regarding the human being as the central fact of the universe.
  • anti-comintern pact — a pact formed in 1936, based on agreements between Germany and Japan to oppose communism and the Third International: Italy and Spain subsequently became signatories.
  • anticholinesterases — Plural form of anticholinesterase.
  • anticipatory breach — a declaration by one party to a contract that it does not intend to fulfil its obligations to the second party, who can then accept this declaration and choose not to be bound by the contract
  • antimony trisulfide — a black or orange-red crystalline compound, Sb2S3, used as a pigment, in pyrotechnics and matches, for fireproofing fabrics and paper, etc.
  • antoine louis barye — Antoine Louis [ahn-twan lwee] /ɑ̃ˈtwan lwi/ (Show IPA), 1795–1875, French sculptor and painter.
  • apollonius of perga — ?261–?190 bc, Greek mathematician, remembered for his treatise on conic sections
  • appetitive behavior — activity that increases the likelihood of satisfying a specific need, as restless searching for food by a hungry predator (distinguished from consummatory behavior).
  • appointments bureau — an office responsible for filling appointments
  • apres moi le deluge — after me the deluge
  • arbitration service — a service which provides an impartial referee to settle disputes
  • arecibo observatory — an observatory in Puerto Rico at which the world's largest dish radio telescope (diameter 305 m) is situated. It is operated by the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center
  • aristotle's lantern — a complex arrangement of muscles and calcareous teeth and plates forming an eversible organ in most echinoids, functioning in mastication.
  • ark of the covenant — the chest containing the two stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, kept in the holiest part of the ancient Jewish Tabernacle: Ex. 25:10
  • armed response unit — (in Britain) a unit of police officers who are trained to use firearms in situations where unarmed police officers would be in danger
  • army of the potomac — Union forces, trained and organized by Gen. George B. McClellan, that guarded Washington, D.C., against a Confederate invasion across the Potomac and fought battles in the eastern sector during the Civil War.
  • aromatase inhibitor — any of a class of drugs that inhibit the action of aromatase: used in the treatment of breast and ovarian cancer
  • arsenic trichloride — a colorless or yellow, oily, poisonous liquid, AsCl 3 , used chiefly as an intermediate in the manufacture of organic arsenicals.
  • artemis microkernel — (operating system)   A microkernel currently under development by Dave Hudson <[email protected]>, scheduled for release under GPL in May 1995. It is targeted at embedded applications on Intel 80386, Intel 486 and Pentium based systems.
  • as a matter of fact — You use as a matter of fact to introduce a statement that gives more details about what has just been said, or an explanation of it, or something that contrasts with it.
  • asbestos cork award — (humour)   Once, long ago at MIT, there was a flamer so consistently obnoxious that another hacker designed, had made, and distributed posters announcing that said flamer had been nominated for the "asbestos cork award". (Any reader in doubt as to the intended application of the cork should consult the etymology under flame.) Since then, it is agreed that only a select few have risen to the heights of bombast required to earn this dubious dignity - but there is no agreement on *which* few.
  • ask for a signature — If you ask for a signature, you ask someone to write their name, in their own characteristic way, on a document.
  • asperger's syndrome — a form of autism in which the person affected has limited but obsessive interests, and has difficulty relating to other people
  • assistant professor — An assistant professor is a college teacher who ranks above an instructor but below an associate professor.
  • associate professor — An associate professor is a college teacher who ranks above an assistant professor but below a professor.
  • associative storage — a storage device in which the information is identified by content rather than by an address
  • at a (or one) blow — by one action
  • at one's discretion — as one wishes
  • at one's fingertips — readily available and within one's mental grasp
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