16-letter words containing a, l, e, c, t, o
- critical section — A non-re-entrant piece of code that can only be executed by one process at a time. It will usually terminate in bounded time and a process will only have to wait a bounded time to enter it. Some synchronisation mechanism is required at the entry and exit of the critical section to ensure exclusive use.
- croydon facelift — the tightening effect on the skin of a woman's face caused by securing the hair at the back of the head in a tight ponytail
- crystal detector — a demodulator, used esp in microwave circuits and in early radio receivers, consisting of a thin metal wire in point contact with a semiconductor crystal
- crystallographer — A person skilled in crystallography.
- cyclohexamantane — (chemistry) A certain diamondoid, C26H30.
- de-anglicization — (in Ireland) the elimination of English influence, language, customs, etc
- dealcoholization — to remove some or all of the alcohol from (a drink).
- decapitalization — to deprive of capital; discourage capital formation; withdraw capital from: The government decapitalized industry with harsh tax policies.
- decentralisation — Alternative spelling of decentralization.
- decentralization — to distribute the administrative powers or functions of (a central authority) over a less concentrated area: to decentralize the national government.
- decimal fraction — a fraction whose denominator is some power of 10, usually indicated by a dot (decimal point or point) written before the numerator: as 0.4 = 4/10; 0.126 = 126/1000.
- declassification — to remove the classification from (information, a document, etc.) that restricts access in terms of secrecy, confidentiality, etc. Compare classification (def 5).
- decontextualized — removed from the usual context
- delayed reaction — response after an interval
- delta connection — a connection used in a three-phase electrical system in which three elements in series form a triangle, the supply being input and output at the three junctions
- delta conversion — delta reduction
- denuclearization — The act or process of denuclearizing.
- dephlogisticated — Simple past tense and past participle of dephlogisticate.
- depoliticization — The act or process of depoliticizing.
- deradicalization — the practice of encouraging those with extreme and violent religious or political ideologies to adopt more moderate views
- dermatologically — In a dermatological way.
- deuterocanonical — of or constituting a second or subsequent canon; specif., designating certain Biblical books accepted as canonical in the Roman Catholic Church, but held by Protestants to be apocryphal
- devil's advocate — If you play devil's advocate in a discussion or debate, you express an opinion which you may not agree with but which is very different to what other people have been saying, in order to make the argument more interesting.
- diacetylmorphine — heroin.
- 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.
- diethyl carbinol — a colorless, liquid isomer of amyl alcohol, (CH3CH2)2CHOH, used in drugs and as a solvent
- digital computer — a computer that processes information in digital form.
- dimethylcarbinol — isopropyl alcohol.
- direct-mail shot — the posting of unsolicited sales literature to potential customers' homes or business addresses
- 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.
- 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
- disconsolateness — (uncountable) The state of being disconsolate; gloom.
- 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.
- distance modulus — a measure of the distance, r, of a celestial object too far away to show measurable parallax. It is given by m–M = 5 log(r/10), where m is its apparent magnitude (corrected for interstellar absorption) and M is its absolute magnitude
- documentary film — factual, informative film
- dolce far niente — pleasing inactivity.
- domain selection — (systems analysis) The prioritisation and selection of one or more domains for which specific software reuse engineering projects are to be initiated.
- domestic prelate — an honorary distinction conferred by the Holy See upon clergy, entitling them to some of the privileges of a bishop.
- dominical letter — any one of the letters from A to G used in church calendars to mark the Sundays throughout any particular year, serving primarily to aid in determining the date of Easter.
- dorothy canfield — Dorothy, Fisher, Dorothy Canfield.
- ecotoxicological — Of or pertaining to ecotoxicology.
- educational park — a group of elementary and high schools, usually clustered in a parklike setting and having certain facilities shared by all grades, that often accommodates students from a large area.
- elected official — person voted into office
- electrical power — electricity
- electrical storm — thunder, lightning
- electroacoustics — a branch of acoustics that deals with the conversion of sound into electricity and vice versa, as in a microphone or a speaker
- electrohydraulic — Relating to electrohydraulics.
- electrolytic gas — a mixture of two parts of hydrogen and one part of oxygen by volume, formed by the electrolysis of water
- electromagnetics — Electricity and magnetism, collectively, as a field of study.