17-letter words containing c, a, n, b, e
- dagestan republic — a constituent republic of S Russia, on the Caspian Sea: annexed from Persia in 1813; rich mineral resources. Capital: Makhachkala. Pop: 2 584 200 (2002). Area: 50 278 sq km (19 416 sq miles)
- de-baathification — the process of removing the members and influence of the Ba'ath Party from public office in Iraq following the US-led invasion of 2003
- deoxyribonuclease — DNase.
- discreditableness — Quality of being discreditable.
- disposable income — the part of a person's income remaining after deducting personal income taxes.
- doberman pinscher — one of a German breed of medium-sized, short-haired dogs having a black, brown, or blue coat with rusty brown markings.
- double refraction — the separation of a ray of light into two unequally refracted, plane-polarized rays of orthogonal polarizations, occurring in crystals in which the velocity of light rays is not the same in all directions.
- double track line — a railway line with double track
- economic blockade — an embargo on trade with a country, esp one which prohibits receipt of exports from that country, with the intention of disrupting the country's economy
- egyptian brackets — (programming, humour) A humourous term for K&R indent style, referring to the "one hand up in front, one down behind" pose which popular culture inexplicably associates with Egypt.
- flowering tobacco — any plant belonging to the genus Nicotiana, of the nightshade family, as N. alata and N. sylvestris, having clusters of fragrant flowers that usually bloom at night, grown as an ornamental.
- fort walton beach — a city in NW Florida.
- fulgencio batista — Fulgencio [fool-hen-syaw] /fulˈhɛn syɔ/ (Show IPA), (Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar) 1901–73, Cuban military leader: dictator of Cuba 1934–40; president 1940–44, 1952–59.
- get one's back up — the rear part of the human body, extending from the neck to the lower end of the spine.
- henry cabot lodge — Henry Cabot, 1850–1924, U.S. public servant and author: senator 1893–1924.
- high-carbon steel — steel containing between 0.5 and 1.5 per cent carbon
- histamine blocker — any of various substances that act at a specific receptor site to block certain actions of histamine.
- hubble's constant — the ratio of the recessional velocity of galaxies to their distance from the sun, with current measurements of its value ranging from 50 to 100 km/sec per megaparsec.
- hyperbolic secant — a hyperbolic function that is the reciprocal of cosh; sech
- i can't be fagged — I can't be bothered
- iambic pentameter — a verse line consisting of five metrical iambs
- impracticableness — The state of being impracticable; impracticability.
- in the background — behind the focus of attention
- incompatibilities — not compatible; unable to exist together in harmony: She asked for a divorce because they were utterly incompatible.
- inconceivableness — The quality of being inconceivable.
- incubation period — the period between infection and the appearance of signs of a disease.
- indecipherability — Quality of being indecipherable.
- indescribableness — The quality of being indescribable.
- insectivorous bat — any bat of the suborder Microchiroptera, typically having large ears and feeding on insects. The group includes common bats (Myotis species), vampire bats, etc
- instance variable — (programming) In object-oriented programming, one of the variables of a class template which may have a different value for each object of that class. Instance variables hold the state of an object.
- internet backbone — (communications, networking) High-speed networks that carry Internet traffic. These communications networks are provided by companies such as AT&T, GTE, IBM, MCI, Netcom, Sprint, UUNET and consist of high-speed links in the T1, T3, OC1 and OC3 ranges. The backbones carry Internet traffic around the world and meet at Network Access Points (NAPs). The topology of the "backbone" and its interconnections may once have resembled a spine with ribs connected along its length but is now almost certainly more like a fishing net wrapped around the world with many circular paths.
- invincible armada — Armada.
- invisible balance — the difference in value between total exports of services plus payment of property incomes from abroad and total imports of services plus payment abroad of property incomes
- irreconcilability — incapable of being brought into harmony or adjustment; incompatible: irreconcilable differences.
- irrecoverableness — The quality of being irrecoverable.
- job specification — a detailed description of the qualifications, skills, and experience required for a particular post of employment
- karelian republic — a constituent republic of NW Russia between the White Sea and Lakes Onega and Ladoga. Capital: Petrozavodsk. Pop: 716 700 (2002). Area: 172 400 sq km (66 560 sq miles)
- keep your balance — If you keep your balance, for example when standing in a moving vehicle, you remain steady and do not fall over. If you lose your balance, you become unsteady and fall over.
- kendal sneck bent — a fishhook having a wide, squarish bend.
- keyboard commando — (messaging) A bulletin board user who posts authoritatively on military or combat topics, but who has never served in uniform or heard a shot fired in anger. A poseur.
- lautenclavicymbal — a harpsichord with strings of gut rather than metal.
- liberal education — an education based primarily on the liberal arts, emphasizing the development of intellectual abilities as opposed to the acquisition of professional skills.
- ligurian republic — the republic in NW Italy set up by Napoleon in 1797, incorporated into France in 1805, and united with the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1814.
- lithium carbonate — a colorless crystalline compound, Li 2 CO 3 , slightly soluble in water: used in ceramic and porcelain glazes, pharmaceuticals, and luminescent paints.
- macfarlane burnet — Sir (Frank) Macfarlane [muh k-fahr-luh n] /məkˈfɑr lən/ (Show IPA), 1899–1985, Australian physician: Nobel Prize in Physiology 1960.
- macroinvertebrate — (zoology) An invertebrate that is large enough to be seen without the use of a microscope.
- medical librarian — a person who works in a library of medical information kept for reference in a teaching hospital
- membrane recovery — Membrane recovery is a process which uses membranes to obtain hydrogen from refinery fuel gas, hydrocrackers, and chemical processes such as methanol production.
- microdermabrasion — A cosmetic treatment in which the face is sprayed with exfoliant crystals to remove dead epidermal cells.
- microinvertebrate — An invertebrate of microscopic size.