16-letter words containing a, f, i, r
- pair of scissors — two-bladed cutting tool
- paraprofessional — a person trained to assist a doctor, lawyer, teacher, or other professional, but not licensed to practice in the profession.
- partial fraction — one of the fractions into which a given fraction can be resolved, the sum of such simpler fractions being equal to the given fraction: Partial fractions of 5/(x2−x) are 5/(x−1) and −5/x.
- partial function — A function which is not defined for all arguments of its input type. E.g. f(x) = 1/x if x /= 0. The opposite of a total function. In denotational semantics, a partial function f : D -> C may be represented as a total function ft : D' -> lift(C) where D' is a superset of D and ft x = f x if x in D ft x = bottom otherwise where lift(C) = C U bottom. Bottom (LaTeX \perp) denotes "undefined".
- parts of lindsey — an area in E England constituting a former administrative division of Lincolnshire
- pass-band filter — band-pass filter
- passive transfer — Immunology. injection of lymphocytes or antibody from an immune or sensitized donor to a nonimmune host in order to impart immunity or test for allergic reactions.
- pearls of wisdom — good advice, wise words
- pearly razorfish — See under razorfish.
- peregrine falcon — a globally distributed falcon, Falco peregrinus, much used in falconry because of its swift flight: several subspecies are endangered.
- persulfuric acid — Also called Caro's acid, permonosulfuric acid, peroxymonosulfuric acid, peroxysulfuric acid. a white, crystalline solid, H 2 SO 5 , used as an oxidizing agent for certain organic compounds.
- phase difference — the difference between two sinusoidally varying quantities that have the same frequency, measured either as an angle or a time
- phosphor fatigue — screen saver
- place of worship — religious house: church, temple
- plaster of paris — calcined gypsum in white, powdery form, used as a base for gypsum plasters, as an additive of lime plasters, and as a material for making fine and ornamental casts: characterized by its ability to set rapidly when mixed with water.
- polyvinyl formal — a colorless, water-insoluble, polyvinyl acetal produced from partially hydrolyzed polyvinyl acetate and formaldehyde, used chiefly in the manufacture of lacquers.
- post-reformation — the act of reforming; state of being reformed.
- practical effect — Usually, practical effects. a special effect that is created live on the set of a film, using real-world objects.
- prespecification — the act of specifying.
- pressure flaking — a method of manufacturing a flint tool by pressing flakes from a stone core with a pointed implement, usually of wood tipped with antler or copper.
- pribilof islands — a group of islands in the Bering Sea, off SW Alaska, belonging to the US: the breeding ground of the northern fur seal. Area: about 168 sq km (65 sq miles)
- prima facie case — a case in which the evidence produced is sufficient to enable a decision or verdict to be made unless the evidence is rebutted.
- prince's feather — a tall, showy plant, Amaranthus hybridus erythrostachys, of the amaranth family, having reddish foliage and thick spikes of small, red flowers.
- prince's-feather — a tall, showy plant, Amaranthus hybridus erythrostachys, of the amaranth family, having reddish foliage and thick spikes of small, red flowers.
- principal rafter — a diagonal member of a roof principal, usually forming part of a truss and supporting the purlins on which the common rafters rest.
- professionalisms — professional character, spirit, or methods.
- puddling-furnace — the act of a person or thing that puddles.
- quarter-finalist — A quarter-finalist is a person or team that is competing in a quarter-final.
- racial profiling — the use of personal characteristics or behavior patterns to make generalizations about a person, as in gender profiling.
- radius of action — the maximum distance that a ship, aircraft, or land vehicle can travel from its base and return without refuelling
- ramen profitable — If a startup business is ramen profitable, it is barely profitable, just enough to allow the founder to live on the cheapest diet.
- rational fortran — (language) (RATFOR) Brian Kernighan's Fortran preprocessor that allows programming with C-like control flow. RATFOR is mainly of historical significance. A translator from Ratfor to Fortran IV was posted to comp.sources.Unix volume 13.
- reclassification — categorization in a different way
- refinery upgrade — A refinery upgrade is the process of introducing the newest technology in some parts of the refinery.
- reflection plane — a plane through a crystal that divides the crystal into two halves that are mirror images of each other.
- reflexive domain — A domain satisfying a recursive domain equation. E.g. D = D -> D.
- refracting angle — an angle formed by a ray which is refracted and which is perpendicular to the refracting surface
- refractive index — index of refraction.
- refrigerator car — a freight car having either an ice chest or machinery for chilling perishables and sometimes having a heating unit to keep perishables from freezing.
- registration fee — a fee paid to register, enrol or sign up for (a course, etc)
- reidentification — an act or instance of identifying; the state of being identified.
- releasing factor — a substance usually of hypothalamic origin that triggers the release of a particular hormone from an endocrine gland.
- rich text format — (RTF) An interchange format from Microsoft for exchange of documents between Word and other document preparation systems.
- right about face — Military. a command, given to a soldier or soldiers at attention, to turn the body about toward the right so as to face in the opposite direction. the act of so turning in a prescribed military manner.
- romantic fiction — a genre of fiction focused on romantic love
- rotation of axes — a process of replacing the axes in a Cartesian coordinate system with a new set of axes making a specified angle with and having the same origin as the original axes.
- sabattier effect — the alteration of the image tones of a photographic print by briefly reexposing the negative after it has been partially developed.
- saccharification — to convert (starch) into sugar.
- sacrificial lamb — If you refer to someone as a sacrificial lamb, you mean that they have been blamed unfairly for something they did not do, usually in order to protect another more powerful person or group.
- santa fe springs — a city in SW California, near Los Angeles: oil wells.