17-letter words containing a, r, e, l, i
- the evil day/hour — If someone is putting off the evil day or the evil hour, they have to do something unpleasant and are trying to avoid doing it for as long as possible.
- the final curtain — the closing of the curtain at the end of the action of a play
- the lower animals — relatively simple or primitive animals and not mammals or vertebrates
- the rail-splitter — Lincoln2
- the silken ladder — a one-act opera by Rossini, telling the story of Giulia, who is secretly married to Dorvil; he visits her bedroom every night by climbing up a ladder made of silk. Giulia's guardian, Dormont, expects her to marry Blansac, but she introduces Blansac to her cousin Lucilla; after much confusion, the two couples are joyfully united
- the tabloid press — (considered as a whole) newspapers with pages about 30 cm (12 inches) by 40 cm (16 inches), usually characterized by an emphasis on photographs and a concise and often sensational style
- the unwritten law — the tradition that a person may avenge any insult to family integrity, as used to justify criminal acts of vengeance
- theatricalization — to put into dramatic or theatrical form; dramatize.
- thermal diffusion — the separation of constituents, often isotopes, of a fluid under the influence of a temperature gradient.
- thermal expansion — expansion caused by heat
- thermal pollution — a rise in the temperature of rivers or lakes that is injurious to water-dwelling life and is caused by the disposal of heated industrial waste water or water from the cooling towers of nuclear power plants.
- thermal radiation — electromagnetic radiation emitted by all matter above a temperature of absolute zero because of the thermal motion of atomic particles.
- thermocoagulation — the coagulation of tissue by heat-producing high-frequency electric currents, used therapeutically to remove small growths or to create specific lesions in the brain.
- three mile island — an island in the Susquehanna River, near Middletown, Pennsylvania, SE of Harrisburg: scene of a near-disastrous accident at a nuclear plant in 1979 that raised the issue of nuclear-energy safety.
- three-dimensional — having, or seeming to have, the dimension of depth as well as width and height.
- three-strikes law — a law that mandates a life sentence to a felon convicted for the third time.
- tiger swallowtail — a yellow swallowtail butterfly, Papilio glaucus, of eastern North America, having the forewings striped with black.
- tiglath-pileser i — died 1102? b.c, king of Assyria c1115–1102?.
- to play it by ear — If you play it by ear, you decide what to say or do in a situation by responding to events rather than by following a plan which you have decided on in advance.
- to play with fire — If you say that someone is playing with fire, you mean that they are doing something dangerous that may result in great harm for them and cause many problems.
- torricellian tube — a vertical glass tube partly evacuated and partly filled with mercury, the height of which is used as a measure of atmospheric pressure
- tortoiseshell cat — a domestic cat, especially a female one, of variegated black, yellow, and white coloring.
- traffic policeman — a policeman controlling traffic, esp while stationed at an intersection, or enforcing traffic regulations
- trailing geranium — an ivy-leaved variety of geranium, Pelargonium peltatum
- transcendentalism — transcendental character, thought, or language.
- transcendentalist — transcendental character, thought, or language.
- transcendentalize — to cause to become transcendent.
- transmission line — a system of conductors, as coaxial cable, a wave guide, or a pair of parallel wires, used to transmit signals.
- travelling people — Gypsies or other itinerant people: a term used esp by such people of themselves
- tridimensionality — having three dimensions.
- trifoliate orange — a spiny, Chinese orange tree, Poncirus trifoliata, used as a stock in grafting and for hedges.
- tropical maritime — a type of warm, wet air mass originating at low latitudes over ocean areas
- tropical medicine — the branch of medicine dealing with the study and treatment of diseases occurring in the tropics.
- trucial sheikdoms — an independent federation in E Arabia, formed in 1971, now comprising seven emirates on the S coast (formerly, Pirate Coast or Trucial Coast) of the Persian Gulf, formerly under British protection: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah (joined 1972), and Fujairah. About 32,300 sq. mi. (83,657 sq. km). Capital: Abu Dhabi. Abbreviation: U.A.E.
- tubercle bacillus — the bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, causing tuberculosis.
- twelve patriarchs — any of the sons of Jacob ((the twelve patriarchs),) from whom the tribes of Israel were descended.
- ultimate strength — the quantity of the utmost tensile, compressive, or shearing stress that a given unit area of a certain material is expected to bear without failing.
- ultraconservative — extremely conservative, especially in politics.
- ultrametamorphism — metamorphism during which the temperature of a rock exceeds its melting point.
- ultramicrobalance — a balance for weighing precisely, to a hundredth of a microgram or less, minute quantities of material.
- uncircumscribable — to draw a line around; encircle: to circumscribe a city on a map.
- unclassified road — a road that has not been given a grade because it is of a basic standard
- understandability — capable of being understood; comprehensible.
- universal algebra — (logic) The model theory of first-order equational logic.
- universal grammar — a grammar that attempts to establish the properties and constraints common to all possible human languages.
- unofficial strike — a strike that is not approved by the strikers' trade union
- unpredictableness — not predictable; not to be foreseen or foretold: an unpredictable occurrence.
- unprofessionalism — not professional; not pertaining to or characteristic of a profession.
- unproportionately — proportioned; being in due proportion; proportional.
- unrealized losses — Unrealized losses are losses from the decrease in value of an asset that you still own.