17-letter words containing a, r, o, y, s
- illinois waterway — a waterway system in N Illinois made up of canals and rivers connecting Lake Michigan in Chicago with the Mississippi River. 336 miles (541 km) long.
- implosion therapy — a form of behavior therapy involving intensive recollection and review of anxiety-producing situations or events in a patient's life in an attempt to develop more appropriate responses to similar situations in the future.
- implosive-therapy — a form of behavior therapy involving intensive recollection and review of anxiety-producing situations or events in a patient's life in an attempt to develop more appropriate responses to similar situations in the future.
- impressionability — easily impressed or influenced; susceptible: an impressionable youngster.
- improvisationally — In an improvisational way.
- infantry division — a military division composed of infantry
- insurance company — company that sells insurance policies
- insurmountability — incapable of being surmounted, passed over, or overcome; insuperable: an insurmountable obstacle.
- intersectionality — the theory that the overlap of various social identities, as race, gender, sexuality, and class, contributes to the specific type of systemic oppression and discrimination experienced by an individual (often used attributively): Her paper uses a queer intersectionality approach.
- inversion therapy — a method used to stretch and align the body, especially the lower back, by suspending the entire body upside down from an apparatus that grips or supports the feet or knees.
- irrigation system — a system of supplying (land) with water by means of artificial canals, ditches, etc, esp to promote the growth of food crops
- isopropyl alcohol — a colorless, flammable, water-soluble liquid, C 3 H 8 O, produced from propylene by the action of sulfuric acid and hydrolysis: used chiefly in the manufacture of antifreeze and rubbing alcohol and as a solvent.
- it's your funeral — If someone says to you 'It's your funeral', they think your decision or your actions will have bad consequences for you, but they are unwilling to interfere.
- john of salisbury — c1115–80, English prelate and scholar.
- kawasaki syndrome — a syndrome, usually afflicting children, characterized by high fever, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, rashes, irritated eyes and mucous membranes, etc. with possible damage to the cardiovascular system
- laboratory school — a school maintained by a college or university for the training of student teachers.
- lance of courtesy — a lance having a blunt head to prevent serious injury by a jouster to an opponent.
- lee harvey oswald — Lee Harvey, 1939–63, designated by a presidential commission to be the lone assassin of John F. Kennedy.
- lipopolysaccaride — a molecule, consisting of lipid and polysaccharide components, that is the main constituent of the cell walls of Gram-negative bacteria
- lithostratigraphy — the study or character of stratified rocks based solely on their physical and petrographic features.
- lyon king of arms — the chief herald of Scotland
- machado y morales — Gerardo [he-rahr-th aw] /hɛˈrɑr ðɔ/ (Show IPA), 1871–1939, president of Cuba 1925–33.
- majority decision — a decision supported by more than half the people involved
- maraschino cherry — a cherry cooked in colored syrup and flavored with maraschino, used to garnish desserts, cocktails, etc.
- mass spectroscopy — an instrument used to determine the masses of small, electrically charged particles.
- mercy otis warren — Earl, 1891–1974, U.S. lawyer and political leader: chief justice of the U.S. 1953–69.
- miss lonelyhearts — a novel (1933) by Nathanael West.
- more than usually — You use more than usually to show that something shows even more of a particular quality than it normally does.
- mundane astrology — the astrology of worldly events, in contrast to the astrology of the individual: used especially in interpretations and forecasts involving politics, the stock market, weather, and disasters.
- munitions factory — a factory where munitions are made
- muscle dysmorphia — a mental disorder primarily affecting males, characterized by obsessions about a perceived lack of muscularity, leading to compulsive exercising, use of anabolic steroids, etc. Compare body dysmorphic disorder.
- national security — defence of a country
- naval observatory — an astronomical observatory located in Washington, D.C., operated by the U.S. government, and responsible for the U.S. time service.
- neuropsychiatrist — A medical doctor specializing in neuropsychiatry; a medical doctor dealing with disorders that have both neurological and psychiatric features.
- new orleans style — a style of jazz developed in New Orleans early in the 20th century, influenced by blues, ragtime, marching band music, and minstrelsy and marked by polyphonic group improvisation.
- new scotland yard — See under Scotland Yard (def 1).
- nine days' wonder — an event or thing that arouses considerable but short-lived interest or excitement.
- non-discretionary — subject or left to one's own discretion.
- non-stereotypical — a process, now often replaced by more advanced methods, for making metal printing plates by taking a mold of composed type or the like in papier-mâché or other material and then taking from this mold a cast in type metal.
- nondiscriminatory — 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.
- northeast by east — a point on the compass 11°15′ east of northeast. Abbreviation: NEbE.
- nursery education — education provided at a school for young children, usually from three to five years old
- odour of sanctity — sanctimoniousness
- opportunistically — adhering to a policy of opportunism; practicing opportunism.
- optical astronomy — the branch of observational astronomy using telescopes to observe or photograph celestial objects in visible light.
- organic chemistry — the branch of chemistry, originally limited to substances found only in living organisms, dealing with the compounds of carbon.
- organic psychosis — a severe mental illness produced by damage to the brain, as a result of poisoning, alcoholism, disease, etc
- otolaryngologists — Plural form of otolaryngologist.
- out of harm's way — If someone or something is out of harm's way, they are in a safe place away from danger or from the possibility of being damaged.
- oystershell scale — a scale insect, Lepidosaphes ulmi, having a scale shaped like the shell of an oyster, which infests various deciduous trees and shrubs.