18-letter words containing a, p, i, v

oral contraceptive — birth-control pill.
over-extrapolation — to infer (an unknown) from something that is known; conjecture.
over-pronunciation — to pronounce (a word, syllable, etc.) in an exaggerated, affected, or excessively careful manner.
overcapitalization — The state of being overcapitalized.
overinterpretation — the act of interpreting; elucidation; explication: This writer's work demands interpretation.
overpressurization — pressure in excess of normal atmospheric pressure, as that caused by an explosion's shock wave or created in an accelerating airplane.
overrepresentation — to give too much representation to; represent in numbers that are disproportionately high.
overspecialization — excessive specialization, as in a field of study.
parallel evolution — the independent development of closely corresponding adaptive features in two or more groups of organisms that occupy different but equivalent habitats, as marsupial mammals in Australia and placental mammals on other continents.
partial derivative — the derivative of a function with respect to one of its variables with all other variables held constant.
partial evaluation — (compiler, algorithm) (Or "specialisation") An optimisation technique where the compiler evaluates some subexpressions at compile-time. For example, Partial evaluation might change the termination properties of the program if, for example, the expression (x * 0) was reduced to 0 it would terminate even if x (and thus x * 0) did not. It may be necessary to reorder an expression to partially evaluate it, e.g. f x y = (x + y) + 1 g z = f 3 z If we rewrite f: f x y = (x + 1) + y then the expression x+1 becomes a constant for the function g and we can say g z = f 3 z = (3 + 1) + z = 4 + z Partial evaluation of built-in functions applied to constant arguments is known as constant folding. See also full laziness.
partial-vegetarian — a person who eats mostly plant foods, dairy products, and eggs, and occasionally chicken, fish, and red meat.
particular average — a loss at sea, as through accident or negligence, that is borne solely by the owner of the lost property. Abbreviation: P.A.
passive euthanasia — a form of euthanasia in which medical treatment that will keep a dying patient alive for a time is withdrawn
passive resistance — opposition to a government or to specific governmental laws by the use of noncooperation and other nonviolent methods, as economic boycotts and protest marches.
passive vocabulary — all the words, collectively, that a person can understand
passive-aggressive — denoting or pertaining to a personality type or behavior marked by the expression of negative emotions in passive, indirect ways, as through manipulation or noncooperation: a passive-aggressive employee who often misses deadlines.
payment in advance — If a business asks for payment in advance, the payment must be received in full before the goods or services are delivered.
pemphigus vulgaris — a potentially fatal blistering skin disease, characterized by large blisters on the skin, mucous membranes of the mouth, genitals, intestines, etc, which eventually rupture and form painful denuded areas from which critical amounts of bodily protein, fluid, and blood may be lost
pennsylvania dutch — the descendants of 17th- and 18th-century settlers in Pennsylvania from southwest Germany and Switzerland.
physical inventory — To carry out a physical inventory is to count all the stock on hand.
plenum ventilation — a system of mechanical ventilation in which fresh air is forced into the spaces to be ventilated from a chamber (plenum chamber) at a pressure slightly higher than atmospheric pressure, so as to expel foul air.
pneumatic conveyor — a tube through which powdered or granular material, such as cement, grain, etc is transported by a flow of air
positively charged — having a positive charge
post-revolutionary — of, pertaining to, characterized by, or of the nature of a revolution, or a sudden, complete, or marked change: a revolutionary junta.
postviral syndrome — debilitating condition occurring as a sequel to viral illness
prepositional verb — a combination of verb and preposition, often with idiomatic meaning, differing from other phrasal verbs in that an object must always follow the preposition, as take after in The children take after their mother.
preservation order — In Britain, a preservation order is an official order that makes it illegal for anyone to alter or destroy something such as an old building or an area of countryside.
private enterprise — free enterprise (def 1).
provably difficult — The set or property of problems for which it can be proven that no polynomial-time algorithm exists, only exponential-time algorithms.
provascular tissue — procambium.
provincial council — (formerly) a council administering any of the New Zealand provinces
provision merchant — a person or company in the business of retailing food and other provisions
puvis de chavannes — Puvis de [py-vee duh] /püˈvi də/ (Show IPA), Puvis de Chavannes, Pierre.
rapid eye movement — rapidly shifting, continuous movements of the eyes beneath closed lids during the stage of sleep characterized by dreaming.
reactive component — the component in an alternating-current circuit that does not contribute power because it is 90° out of phase with the voltage or current.
recovery operation — the process of locating and retrieving bodies, esp following an explosion or natural disaster
representativeness — a person or thing that represents another or others.
service department — a repair shop
sodium-vapour lamp — a type of electric lamp consisting of a glass tube containing neon and sodium vapour at low pressure through which an electric current is passed to give an orange light. They are used in street lighting
special relativity — the state or fact of being relative.
superior vena cava — See under vena cava.
supportive therapy — any treatment, such as the intravenous administration of certain fluids, designed to reinforce or sustain the physiological well-being of a patient
television company — a company that broadcasts programmes by television
the operative word — If you describe a word as the operative word, you want to draw attention to it because you think it is important or exactly true in a particular situation.
thiruvananthapuram — a state in SW India: formerly the regions of Travancore and Cochin. 15,005 sq. mi. (38,836 sq. km). Capital: Thiruvananthapuram.
to play favourites — to display favouritism
to scrape a living — If you say that someone scrapes a living or scratches a living, you mean that they manage to earn enough to live on, but it is very difficult. In American English, you say they scrape out a living or scratch out a living.
transylvanian alps — a mountain range in S Romania; a SW extension of the Carpathian Mountains. Highest peak: Mount Negoiu, 2548 m (8360 ft)
universal coupling — a coupling between rotating shafts set at an angle to one another, allowing for rotation in three planes.

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