12-letter words containing a, g, p, i, s
- paraphrasing — a restatement of a text or passage giving the meaning in another form, as for clearness; rewording.
- parascending — parasailing
- parasitology — the branch of biology dealing with parasites and the effects of parasitism.
- parting shot — a threat, insult, condemnation, sarcastic retort, or the like, uttered upon leaving.
- passing bell — a bell tolled to announce a death or funeral.
- passing lane — a highway lane in which a driver may pass other vehicles legally.
- passing note — a note that is foreign to a harmony and is introduced between two successive chord tones in order to produce a melodic transition.
- passing shot — a shot played to one side of and beyond the reach of an opponent coming to or stationed at the net.
- pasteurising — to expose (a food, as milk, cheese, yogurt, beer, or wine) to an elevated temperature for a period of time sufficient to destroy certain microorganisms, as those that can produce disease or cause spoilage or undesirable fermentation of food, without radically altering taste or quality.
- pathogenesis — the production and development of disease.
- paving stone — slab used to lay a path
- paying guest — lodger
- persian gulf — strait in the Indian Ocean
- pestological — relating to pestology
- pet scanning — the action or process of using a PET scanner to obtain an image.
- phagocytosis — Physiology. the ingestion of a smaller cell or cell fragment, a microorganism, or foreign particles by means of the local infolding of a cell's membrane and the protrusion of its cytoplasm around the fold until the material has been surrounded and engulfed by closure of the membrane and formation of a vacuole: characteristic of amebas and some types of white blood cells.
- phrasemaking — the making up or coining of memorable phrases or slogans
- physiography — the science of physical geography.
- physogastric — pertaining to the swollen, membranous abdomen of certain insects, especially termite and ant queens.
- piercing saw — a small, fine-gauge saw blade with uniformly spaced, angled teeth, inserted in a jeweler's saw frame and used to cut precious metal and such soft materials as ivory and shell.
- pig islander — a New Zealander
- pilot signal — a signal, as a flag or light, used to request a pilot.
- piss-elegant — displaying a contrived, often pretentious, sophistication, opulence, etc.
- plagiarising — to take and use by plagiarism.
- plagiaristic — an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author: It is said that he plagiarized Thoreau's plagiarism of a line written by Montaigne. Synonyms: appropriation, infringement, piracy, counterfeiting; theft, borrowing, cribbing, passing off.
- plug casting — bait casting in which a plug is used as the lure.
- plumbaginous — containing graphite.
- plunge basin — a cavity at the base of a falls or cataract, formed by the action of the falling water.
- poetastering — the profession of being a poetaster
- pogson ratio — the brightness ratio of two celestial objects that differ by one magnitude. On the Pogson scale a difference of 5 magnitudes is defined as a difference of 100 in the intensities of two stars; therefore a difference of 1 magnitude is equal to the fifth root of 100, i.e. 2.512
- poison gland — a gland in some fish and amphibians that secretes venomous material
- polar lights — the aurora borealis in the Northern Hemisphere or the aurora australis in the Southern Hemisphere.
- polygamistic — a person who practices or favors polygamy.
- polygraphist — an instrument for receiving and recording simultaneously tracings of variations in certain body activities.
- post-glacial — after a given glacial epoch, especially the Pleistocene.
- post-weaning — to accustom (a child or young animal) to food other than its mother's milk; cause to lose the need to suckle or turn to the mother for food.
- postage paid — stamped ready for mailing
- postorgasmic — of or relating to the period after an orgasm
- postsurgical — pertaining to or involving surgery or surgeons.
- potamologist — a specialist in potamology
- pragmaticism — the pragmatist philosophy of C. S. Peirce, chiefly a theory of meaning: so called by him to distinguish it from the pragmatism of William James.
- pragmaticist — a follower of the doctrine of pragmatism
- pre-assigned — Law. to transfer: to assign a contract.
- predesignate — to designate beforehand.
- prediagnosis — Medicine/Medical. the process of determining by examination the nature and circumstances of a diseased condition. the decision reached from such an examination. Abbreviation: Dx.
- predischarge — of or pertaining to the period prior to discharge, esp prior to discharge from hospital or from employment
- pregustation — the act of tasting beforehand
- prestigiator — someone who practises sorcery or prestidigitation
- prison guard — an officer in charge of prisoners in a jail
- prodigal son — a figure in a parable of Jesus (Luke 15:11–32); a wayward son who squanders his inheritance but returns home to find that his father forgives him.