12-letter words containing a, s, e, p, i
- petite sirah — a dry red wine produced mainly in California
- petrobrusian — a member of a 12th-century sect in S France that rejected the Mass, infant baptism, prayers for the dead, sacerdotalism, the veneration of the cross, and the building of churches.
- phalaenopsis — any of various epiphytic orchids of the genus Phalaenopsis, native to tropical Asia, having clusters of showy, variously colored flowers.
- phenarsazine — a type of toxin that originates from arsenic
- philadelphus — (Philadelphus) king of Pergamum c159–138 b.c.
- phonasthenia — difficult or abnormal voice production; vocal weakness.
- photoelastic — displaying photoelasticity; of or relating to photoelasticity
- photorealism — a style of painting flourishing in the 1970s, especially in the U.S., England, and France, and depicting commonplace scenes or ordinary people, with a meticulously detailed realism, flat images, and barely discernible brushwork that suggests and often is based on or incorporates an actual photograph.
- phrasemaking — the making up or coining of memorable phrases or slogans
- phylacteries — Judaism. either of two small, black, leather cubes containing a piece of parchment inscribed with verses 4–9 of Deut. 6, 13–21 of Deut. 11, and 1–16 of Ex. 13: one is attached with straps to the left arm and the other to the forehead during weekday morning prayers by Orthodox and Conservative Jewish men.
- physicalness — of or relating to the body: physical exercise.
- piano lesson — music class in playing the piano
- picnic races — horse races for amateur riders held in rural areas
- picture sash — a large window sash, as for a picture window.
- piece of ass — a separate or limited portion or quantity of something: a piece of land; a piece of chocolate.
- piercing saw — a small, fine-gauge saw blade with uniformly spaced, angled teeth, inserted in a jeweler's saw frame and used to cut precious metal and such soft materials as ivory and shell.
- pig islander — a New Zealander
- pirate coast — 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.
- piss-elegant — displaying a contrived, often pretentious, sophistication, opulence, etc.
- plaid screen — [XEROX PARC] A "special effect" that occurs when certain kinds of memory smashes overwrite the control blocks or image memory of a bit-mapped display. The term "salt and pepper" may refer to a different pattern of similar origin. Though the term as coined at PARC refers to the result of an error, some of the X demos induce plaid-screen effects deliberately as a display hack.
- plain-spoken — candid; frank; blunt.
- plainclothes — Plainclothes police officers wear ordinary clothes instead of a police uniform.
- plane strain — Plane strain is a two-dimensional state of strain in which all the shape changes of a material happen on a single plane.
- planetesimal — one of the small celestial bodies that, according to one theory (planetesimal hypothesis) were fused together to form the planets of the solar system.
- plasteriness — the state of being made of or resembling plaster
- play it safe — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- pleased with — satisfied or content with
- pleiochasium — a flowering system in which several buds come out at the same time
- plunge basin — a cavity at the base of a falls or cataract, formed by the action of the falling water.
- poetastering — the profession of being a poetaster
- poeticalness — the characteristic of being poetical
- point spread — a betting device, established by oddsmakers and used to attract bettors for uneven competitions, indicating the estimated number of points by which a stronger team can be expected to defeat a weaker team, the point spread being added to the weaker team's actual points in the game and this new figure then compared to the stronger team's points to determine winning bets.
- point-spread — a betting device, established by oddsmakers and used to attract bettors for uneven competitions, indicating the estimated number of points by which a stronger team can be expected to defeat a weaker team, the point spread being added to the weaker team's actual points in the game and this new figure then compared to the stronger team's points to determine winning bets.
- police state — a nation in which the police, especially a secret police, summarily suppresses any social, economic, or political act that conflicts with governmental policy.
- policymakers — a person responsible for making policy, especially in government.
- polish wheat — a wheat, Triticum polonicum, grown chiefly in S Europe, N Africa, and Turkestan.
- politicaster — an ill-suited or disliked politician
- polysiloxane — a polymer composed of silicon and oxygen atoms
- pontificates — the office or term of office of a pontiff.
- porcelainous — made of or resembling porcelain
- porcellanise — to bake into porcelain
- positive law — customary law or law enacted by governmental authority (as distinguished from natural law).
- possessional — of, relating to, or characterized by possession
- post-weaning — to accustom (a child or young animal) to food other than its mother's milk; cause to lose the need to suckle or turn to the mother for food.
- postaccident — occurring after an accident
- postage paid — stamped ready for mailing
- postcardlike — (of a scene) resembling a postcard
- postdeadline — the time by which something must be finished or submitted; the latest time for finishing something: a five o'clock deadline.
- poster paint — an opaque, water-based, typically bright-colored paint with a glue-size or gum binder, that is suitable for use on posters and is usually packaged in jars.
- postimperial — of, relating to, or designating the period after an empire