16-letter words containing a, n, i, s, d
- dechristianizing — Present participle of dechristianize.
- declassification — to remove the classification from (information, a document, etc.) that restricts access in terms of secrecy, confidentiality, etc. Compare classification (def 5).
- deep in the past — long ago
- deep-sea fishing — the activity of catching fish that live in the deep parts of the sea
- deindustrialised — Simple past tense and past participle of deindustrialise.
- deindustrialized — Simple past tense and past participle of deindustrialize.
- delaying tactics — techniques used to delay sth
- deliberativeness — The state or quality of being deliberative.
- delta conversion — delta reduction
- demilitarisation — The removal of a military force, usually at the end of hostilities or as part of a treaty.
- demineralisation — Alternative spelling of demineralization.
- demoiselle crane — a gray crane, Anthropoides virgo, of northern Africa, Europe, and Asia, having long, white plumes behind each eye.
- demolition squad — a group of demolishers
- demutualizations — Plural form of demutualization.
- dental hygienist — a dentist's assistant skilled in dental hygiene
- dental insurance — Dental insurance is insurance that pays for treatment by a dentist.
- departmentalizes — Third-person singular simple present indicative form of departmentalize.
- departure signal — a piece of equipment beside a railway which indicates to train drivers whether they should depart or not
- depolymerisation — (chemistry) alternative spelling of depolymerization.
- depression glass — cheap glassware mass-produced during the Depression of the 1930s, usually molded in patterns in pale colors, and collectible since the early 1970s
- depressurization — to remove the air pressure from (a pressurized compartment of an aircraft or spacecraft).
- destabilizations — Plural form of destabilization.
- destigmatization — The process or act of destigmatizing.
- destroying angel — a white slender very poisonous basidiomycetous toadstool, Amanita virosa, having a pronounced volva, frilled, shaggy stalk, and sickly smell
- determinableness — Capability of being determined; determinability.
- developmentalism — An economic theory which states that the best way for Third World countries to develop is through fostering a strong and varied internal market and to impose high tariffs on imported goods.
- developmentalist — an expert in or advocate of developmental psychology.
- devil's triangle — Bermuda Triangle.
- devonshire cream — clotted cream.
- dew-point spread — the degrees of difference between the air temperature and the dew point
- 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
- 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).
- 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.