16-letter words containing c, a, o
- deuterocanonical — of or constituting a second or subsequent canon; specif., designating certain Biblical books accepted as canonical in the Roman Catholic Church, but held by Protestants to be apocryphal
- devil's advocate — If you play devil's advocate in a discussion or debate, you express an opinion which you may not agree with but which is very different to what other people have been saying, in order to make the argument more interesting.
- devonshire cream — clotted cream.
- diacetylmorphine — heroin.
- diagonal process — a form of argument in which a new member of a set is constructed from a list of its known members by making the nth term of the new member differ from the nth term of the nth member. The new member is thus different from every member of the list
- diamond district — the part of a town where diamond merchants and jewellers have their businesses
- diamondback moth — a small moth Plutella xylostella that has diamond-shaped markings on the underside of its front wings that are visible when the wings are folded
- dictionary flame — [Usenet] An attempt to sidetrack a debate away from issues by insisting on meanings for key terms that presuppose a desired conclusion or smuggle in an implicit premise. A common tactic of people who prefer argument over definitions to disputes about reality. Compare spelling flame.
- dictionary-maker — a person who compiles a dictionary
- diethyl carbinol — a colorless, liquid isomer of amyl alcohol, (CH3CH2)2CHOH, used in drugs and as a solvent
- digital computer — a computer that processes information in digital form.
- dihydroxyacetone — (organic compound) The compound CO(CH2OH)2 that has a number of industrial uses.
- dimethylcarbinol — isopropyl alcohol.
- diplomatic corps — the entire body of diplomats accredited to and resident at a court or capital.
- diplomatic pouch — a sealed mailbag containing diplomatic correspondence that is sent free of inspection between a foreign office and its diplomatic or consular post abroad or from one such post to another.
- direct democracy — to manage or guide by advice, helpful information, instruction, etc.: He directed the company through a difficult time.
- direct-mail shot — the posting of unsolicited sales literature to potential customers' homes or business addresses
- director general — the executive head of an organization or of a major subdivision, as a branch or agency, of government.
- director's chair — a lightweight folding armchair with transversely crossed legs and having a canvas seat and back panel, as traditionally used by motion-picture directors.
- director-general — the executive head of an organization or of a major subdivision, as a branch or agency, of government.
- disaccreditation — to take away the accreditation or authorization of: to disaccredit a diplomat.
- disclosing agent — a vegetable dye, administered as a liquid or in tablet form (disclosing tablet), that stains plaque, making it readily apparent on the teeth
- discographically — In terms of discography.
- discombobulating — Present participle of discombobulate.
- discombobulation — to confuse or disconcert; upset; frustrate: The speaker was completely discombobulated by the hecklers.
- disconsolateness — (uncountable) The state of being disconsolate; gloom.
- discountenancing — Present participle of discountenance.
- discriminatorily — 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.
- discussion board — a website or section of a website that is used for public discussion of a specific topic and on which users can submit or read messages: You should post your questions on a parenting message board and get support from other parents.
- disincorporation — to remove from an incorporated state or status.
- displaced person — a person driven or expelled from his or her homeland by war, famine, tyranny, etc. Abbreviation: DP, D.P.
- displacement ton — a unit for measuring the displacement of a vessel, equal to a long ton of 2240 pounds (1016 kg) or 35 cu. ft. (1 cu. m) of seawater.
- disqualification — an act or instance of disqualifying.
- dissatisfactions — Plural form of dissatisfaction.
- distance modulus — a measure of the distance, r, of a celestial object too far away to show measurable parallax. It is given by m–M = 5 log(r/10), where m is its apparent magnitude (corrected for interstellar absorption) and M is its absolute magnitude
- diversifications — Plural form of diversification.
- divisional court — a high court in which at least two judges sit
- do the necessary — to do something that is necessary in a particular situation
- document imaging — the process of converting paper documents into an electronic or digital format
- documentary film — factual, informative film
- dodecyl aldehyde — lauric aldehyde.
- dolce far niente — pleasing inactivity.
- dolichocephalism — (medicine) The quality or condition of being dolichocephalic.
- dollar diplomacy — a government policy of promoting the business interests of its citizens in other countries.
- domain selection — (systems analysis) The prioritisation and selection of one or more domains for which specific software reuse engineering projects are to be initiated.
- domestic partner — either member of an unmarried, cohabiting, and especially homosexual couple that seeks benefits usually available only to spouses.
- domestic prelate — an honorary distinction conferred by the Holy See upon clergy, entitling them to some of the privileges of a bishop.
- domestic servant — person employed to do household chores
- domiciliary care — services, such as meals-on-wheels, health visiting, and home help, provided by a welfare agency for people in their own homes
- dominical letter — any one of the letters from A to G used in church calendars to mark the Sundays throughout any particular year, serving primarily to aid in determining the date of Easter.