12-letter words containing c, a, t, e, r, o
- 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.
- placentiform — shaped like a placenta, with a flat rounded form
- point charge — an electric charge considered to exist at a single point, and thus having neither area nor volume.
- pointed arch — an arch having a pointed apex.
- politicaster — an ill-suited or disliked politician
- poll watcher — a representative of a political party or of an organization running a candidate who is assigned to the polls on an election day to watch for violations of the laws that regulate voting, campaigning, etc.
- porcelainite — Mineralogy. mullite.
- porcellanite — hard and dense rock resembling unglazed porcelain
- post-nuclear — pertaining to or involving atomic weapons: nuclear war.
- postcardlike — (of a scene) resembling a postcard
- postcardware — Shareware that borders on freeware, in that the author requests only that satisfied users send a postcard of their home town or something. (This practice, silly as it might seem, serves to remind users that they are otherwise getting something for nothing, and may also be psychologically related to real estate "sales" in which $1 changes hands just to keep the transaction from being a gift.)
- postfracture — taking place after a fracture
- power factor — (in an electrical circuit) the ratio of the power dissipated to the product of the input volts times amps
- practitioner — a person engaged in the practice of a profession, occupation, etc.: a medical practitioner.
- pre-contract — a preexisting contract that legally prevents a person from making another contract of the same nature.
- pre-creation — the act of producing or causing to exist; the act of creating; engendering.
- pre-socratic — of or relating to the philosophers or philosophical systems of the period before the Socratic period.
- precipitator — to hasten the occurrence of; bring about prematurely, hastily, or suddenly: to precipitate an international crisis.
- precognizant — having prior cognizance or knowledge of a given thing
- prefectorial — of, relating to, or characteristic of a prefect: prefectorial powers.
- prevaricator — a person who speaks falsely; liar.
- prime factor — any number in the set of prime numbers that is also a factor of a given integer
- privatdocent — (in German and certain other universities) a private teacher or lecturer recognized by the university but receiving no compensation from it, being remunerated by fees.
- problematics — problems or difficulties in a particular situation or subject
- proboscidate — having a proboscis.
- procathedral — a church used temporarily as a cathedral.
- process data — data processing
- proconsulate — the office or term of office of a proconsul.
- promuscidate — shaped like a proboscis
- propaedeutic — pertaining to or of the nature of preliminary instruction.
- prosectorial — characteristic of a prosector
- prosecutable — Law. to institute legal proceedings against (a person). to seek to enforce or obtain by legal process. to conduct criminal proceedings in court against.
- protectorate — the relation of a strong state toward a weaker state or territory that it protects and partly controls.
- protein-coat — the coiled or polyhedral structure, composed of proteins, that encloses the nucleic acid of a virus.
- proteoglycan — a macromolecule composed of a polysaccharide joined to a polypeptide and forming the ground substance of connective tissue.
- protreptical — didactic
- protuberance — the condition, state, or quality of being protuberant.
- protuberancy — protuberance.
- pterocarpous — having winged fruit.
- pteroic acid — a crystalline acid found in spinach
- puerto rican — an island in the central West Indies: a commonwealth associated with the U.S. 3435 sq. mi. (8895 sq. km). Capital: San Juan. Abbreviation: P.R., PR.
- putrefaction — the act or process of putrefying; the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter by bacteria and fungi that results in obnoxiously odorous products; rotting.
- pyrocatechol — catechol.
- pyromagnetic — (formerly) thermomagnetic (def 1).
- quattrocento — the 15th century, used in reference to the Italian art and literature of that time.
- racemization — the conversion of an optically active substance into an optically inactive mixture of equal amounts of the dextrorotatory and levorotatory forms.
- rachiotomies — Plural form of rachiotomy.
- radiomimetic — (of drugs) producing effects similar to those produced by X-rays
- ramentaceous — resembling or covered with ramenta.
- ratchet down — If something ratchets down or is ratcheted down, it decreases by a fixed amount or degree, and seems unlikely to increase again.