15-letter words containing c, a, i, l
- self-caricature — a picture, description, etc., ludicrously exaggerating the peculiarities or defects of persons or things: His caricature of the mayor in this morning's paper is the best he's ever drawn.
- self-compatible — able to be fertilized by its own pollen.
- self-dedication — the act of dedicating.
- self-diagnostic — the diagnosis of one's own malady or illness.
- self-inductance — inductance inducing an electromotive force in the same circuit in which the motivating change of current occurs, equal to the number of flux linkages per unit of current.
- self-inoculated — to implant (a disease agent or antigen) in a person, animal, or plant to produce a disease for study or to stimulate disease resistance.
- self-lacerating — to tear roughly; mangle: The barbed wire lacerated his hands.
- self-laceration — the result of lacerating; a rough, jagged tear.
- self-medication — the use of medicine without medical supervision to treat one's own ailment.
- self-proclaimed — to announce or declare in an official or formal manner: to proclaim war.
- semi-analytical — pertaining to or proceeding by analysis (opposed to synthetic).
- semi-articulate — uttered clearly in distinct syllables.
- semi-functional — of or relating to a function or functions: functional difficulties in the administration.
- semicolonialism — the state of being semicolonial
- semicrystalline — partly or imperfectly crystalline.
- semicylindrical — of, relating to, or having the shape of a semicylinder
- semilogarithmic — (of graphing) having one scale logarithmic and the other arithmetic or of uniform gradation.
- seminal vesicle — either of two small saclike glands, located on each side of the bladder in males, that add nutrient fluid to semen during ejaculation.
- semitranslucent — imperfectly or almost translucent.
- sexual politics — the differences in the amount of power that male and female people have in a society or group
- shalom aleichem — Sholom [shaw-luh m] /ˈʃɔ ləm/ (Show IPA), or Sholem [shoh-lem,, -luh m] /ˈʃoʊ lɛm,, -ləm/ (Show IPA), or Shalom [shah-lohm] /ʃɑˈloʊm/ (Show IPA), (pen name of Solomon Rabinowitz) 1859–1916, Russian author of Yiddish novels, plays, and short stories; in the U.S. from 1906.
- ship's articles — a type of contract by which sailors agree to the conditions, payment, etc, for the ship in which they are going to work
- sholem aleichem — Sholom [shaw-luh m] /ˈʃɔ ləm/ (Show IPA), or Sholem [shoh-lem,, -luh m] /ˈʃoʊ lɛm,, -ləm/ (Show IPA), or Shalom [shah-lohm] /ʃɑˈloʊm/ (Show IPA), (pen name of Solomon Rabinowitz) 1859–1916, Russian author of Yiddish novels, plays, and short stories; in the U.S. from 1906.
- sholom aleichem — Sholom [shaw-luh m] /ˈʃɔ ləm/ (Show IPA), or Sholem [shoh-lem,, -luh m] /ˈʃoʊ lɛm,, -ləm/ (Show IPA), or Shalom [shah-lohm] /ʃɑˈloʊm/ (Show IPA), (pen name of Solomon Rabinowitz) 1859–1916, Russian author of Yiddish novels, plays, and short stories; in the U.S. from 1906.
- shrimp cocktail — prawns and lettuce in Mary Rose sauce
- significatively — serving to signify.
- silicon carbide — a very hard, insoluble, crystalline compound, SiC, used as an abrasive and as an electrical resistor in objects exposed to high temperatures.
- silviculturally — with reference to silviculture
- simple fraction — a ratio of two integers.
- simple fracture — a fracture in which the bone does not pierce the skin.
- simplicidentate — belonging or pertaining to the Simplicidentata, formerly regarded as a suborder or division of rodents having only one pair of upper incisor teeth.
- sinclair, clive — Clive Sinclair
- skimble-scamble — rambling; confused; nonsensical: a skimble-scamble explanation.
- slap and tickle — sexual play
- sled cultivator — go-devil (def 5).
- snafu principle — /sna'foo prin'si-pl/ [WWII Army acronym for "Situation Normal: All Fucked Up"] "True communication is possible only between equals, because inferiors are more consistently rewarded for telling their superiors pleasant lies than for telling the truth." - a central tenet of Discordianism, often invoked by hackers to explain why authoritarian hierarchies screw up so reliably and systematically. The effect of the SNAFU principle is a progressive disconnection of decision-makers from reality. This lightly adapted version of a fable dating back to the early 1960s illustrates the phenomenon perfectly: In the beginning was the plan, and then the specification; And the plan was without form, and the specification was void. And darkness was on the faces of the implementors thereof; And they spake unto their leader, saying: "It is a crock of shit, and smells as of a sewer." And the leader took pity on them, and spoke to the project leader: "It is a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof." And the project leader spake unto his section head, saying: "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide it." The section head then hurried to his department manager, and informed him thus: "It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength." The department manager carried these words to his general manager, and spoke unto him saying: "It containeth that which aideth the growth of plants, and it is very strong." And so it was that the general manager rejoiced and delivered the good news unto the Vice President. "It promoteth growth, and it is very powerful." The Vice President rushed to the President's side, and joyously exclaimed: "This powerful new software product will promote the growth of the company!" And the President looked upon the product, and saw that it was very good. After the subsequent disaster, the suits protect themselves by saying "I was misinformed!", and the implementors are demoted or fired.
- social benefits — the social welfare provision made available to those in need
- social bookmark — the practice of saving bookmarked Web pages to a public website as a way to share the links with other Internet users: Social bookmarking is a tool that allows you to add tags and comments to your bookmarks.
- social climbing — advancement of one's social status
- social contract — the voluntary agreement among individuals by which, according to any of various theories, as of Hobbes, Locke, or Rousseau, organized society is brought into being and invested with the right to secure mutual protection and welfare or to regulate the relations among its members.
- social democrat — a person who advocates a gradual transition to socialism or a modified form of socialism by and under democratic political processes.
- social distance — the extent to which individuals or groups are removed from or excluded from participating in one another's lives.
- social drinking — the practice of drinking alcohol occasionally and usually only in social situations
- social dynamics — the study of social processes, especially social change.
- social heritage — the entire inherited pattern of cultural activity present in a society.
- social mobility — mobility (def 2).
- social movement — a group of diffusely organized people or organizations striving toward a common goal relating to human society or social change, or the organized activities of such a group: The push for civil rights was a social movement that peaked in the 1950s and 1960s.
- social register — a directory or list of people prominent in the fashionable society of a given area
- social security — (usually initial capital letters) a program of old-age, unemployment, health, disability, and survivors insurance maintained by the U.S. federal government through compulsory payments by specific employer and employee groups.
- social services — organized welfare efforts carried on under professional auspices by trained personnel.