12-letter words containing a, r, o, u, s
- astroturfing — a PR tactic used in politics and advertising in which actors are paid to display overt and apparently spontaneous grassroots support for a particular product, policy, or event
- asynchronous — An asynchronous electric machine is one in which the magnetic field and the rotation are not exactly the same.
- at all hours — If you say that something happens at all hours of the day or night, you disapprove of it happening at the time that it does or as often as it does.
- atheromatous — a sebaceous cyst.
- atmospherium — an optical system used to simulate images of atmospheric phenomena, as cloud formations, storms, and day and night, on the inside of a dome.
- attributions — Plural form of attribution.
- auger shower — a shower of electrons, photons, etc. resulting from the collision of primary cosmic rays with atomic nuclei in the atmosphere
- australopith — (archaeology, anthropology, paleonotology) Of or pertaining to the extinct hominid primates, of the genus Australopithecus, from the Pleistocene period.
- austronesian — of or relating to Austronesia, its peoples, or their languages
- auto-erotism — the arousal and satisfaction of sexual excitement within or by oneself, as by masturbation.
- autochangers — Plural form of autochanger.
- autodestruct — likely to or possessing the power to destroy or obliterate itself or its possessor
- autodiallers — Plural form of autodialler.
- autoexposure — A device that sets the exposure automatically on a camera or other piece of equipment.
- automorphism — the practice of seeing others as having the same characteristics as oneself
- autorickshaw — (in India) a light three-wheeled vehicle driven by a motorcycle engine
- avariciously — characterized by avarice; greedy; covetous.
- barbados nut — an ornamental, tropical American tree, Jatropha curcas, of the spurge family, having ivylike leaves, small, yellow or greenish-yellow flowers, and olive-shaped fruit yielding a purgative, poisonous oil.
- bardolatrous — relating to or characterized by bardolatry
- barge course — the overhang of the gable end of a roof
- barquisimeto — a city in NW Venezuela. Pop: 1 009 000 (2005 est)
- barratrously — In a barratrous manner.
- bean sprouts — the sprouts of newly germinated mung beans, eaten as a vegetable, esp in Chinese dishes
- beardtongues — Plural form of beardtongue.
- beaufort sea — part of the Arctic Ocean off the N coast of North America
- behaviourism — Behaviourism is the belief held by some psychologists that the only valid method of studying the psychology of people or animals is to observe how they behave.
- biohazardous — a pathogen, especially one used in or produced by biological research.
- black grouse — a large N European grouse, Lyrurus tetrix, the male of which has a bluish-black plumage and lyre-shaped tail
- brachycerous — (of insects) having short antennae
- brassfounder — a person who makes things from brass
- breastplough — a plough driven by the worker's breast, often used to pare turf
- brontosaurus — any very large herbivorous quadrupedal dinosaur of the genus Apatosaurus, common in North America during Jurassic times, having a long neck and long tail: suborder Sauropoda (sauropods)
- buenos aires — the capital of Argentina, a major port and industrial city on the Río de la Plata estuary: became capital in 1880; university (1821). Pop: 13 349 000 (2005 est)
- bunco artist — a confidence trickster or con artist
- burkina faso — an inland republic in W Africa: dominated by Mossi kingdoms (10th–19th centuries); French protectorate established in 1896; became an independent republic in 1960; consists mainly of a flat savanna plateau. Official language: French; Mossi and other African languages also widely spoken. Religion: mostly animist, with a large Muslim minority. Currency: franc. Capital: Ouagadougou. Pop: 17 812 961 (2013 est). Area: 273 200 sq km (105 900 sq miles)
- burro's tail — a succulent Mexican plant, Sedum morganianum, of the stonecrop family, bearing small, rose-colored flowers and long, hanging, nearly cylindrical stems with closely packed whitish-green leaves.
- burseraceous — of, relating to, or belonging to the Burseraceae, a tropical family of trees and shrubs having compound leaves and resin or balsam in their stems. The family includes bdellium and some balsams
- byelorussian — Byelorussian means belonging or relating to Byelorussia or to its people or culture.
- cadaverously — In a cadaverous manner.
- calcareously — in a calcareous manner
- calumniators — Plural form of calumniator.
- camelopardus — a faint extensive constellation in the N hemisphere close to Ursa Major and Cassiopeia
- canorousness — The quality of being musical.
- cantankerous — Someone who is cantankerous is always finding things to argue or complain about.
- capriciously — subject to, led by, or indicative of a sudden, odd notion or unpredictable change; erratic: He's such a capricious boss I never know how he'll react.
- carbon brush — a small block of carbon used to convey current between the stationary and moving parts of an electric generator, motor, etc
- carbonaceous — of, resembling, or containing carbon
- carnivourous — Misspelling of carnivorous.
- carpophagous — feeding on fruit
- cash journal — cashbook.