19-letter words containing c, e, r, i
- creeping featuritis — (jargon) /kree'ping fee'-chr-i:`t*s/ A variant of creeping featurism, with its own spoonerism: "feeping creaturitis". Some people like to reserve this form for the disease as it actually manifests in software or hardware, as opposed to the lurking general tendency in designers' minds. -ism means "condition" or "pursuit of", whereas -itis usually means "inflammation of".
- criminal negligence — negligence which is punishable under the law
- crinoline stretcher — (on a Windsor chair) a stretcher having an inwardly curved piece connecting the front legs, and connected to the back legs by short, straight pieces.
- cross one's fingers — to fold one finger across another in the hope of bringing good luck
- cross-fertilization — fertilization by the fusion of male and female gametes from different individuals of the same species
- crown green bowling — (in Britain) bowls played on a crown green
- cry over spilt milk — to lament something that cannot be altered
- crystallized fruits — fruits that are covered in sugar which is melted and then allowed to harden
- crystallized ginger — sugar-coated ginger
- cudgel one's brains — to think hard about a problem
- culler-fried system — A system for interactive mathematics.
- cult of personality — a cult promoting adulation of a living national leader or public figure, as one encouraged by Stalin to extend his power.
- cultivated mushroom — an edible mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) with a pale cap and stalk: the most common food mushroom
- cultural relativism — a concept that cultural norms and values derive their meaning within a specific social context. Also called cultural relativism. Compare ethnocentrism (def 2).
- cultural relativity — a concept that cultural norms and values derive their meaning within a specific social context. Also called cultural relativism. Compare ethnocentrism (def 2).
- cultural revolution — (in China) a mass movement (1965–68), in which the youthful Red Guard played a prominent part. It was initiated by Mao Tse-tung to destroy the power of the bureaucrats and to revolutionize the attitudes and behaviour of the people
- cultural-relativism — a concept that cultural norms and values derive their meaning within a specific social context. Also called cultural relativism. Compare ethnocentrism (def 2).
- cup-and-saucer vine — a woody, Mexican vine, Cobaea scandens, of the phlox family, having bell-shaped, violet-colored or greenish-purple flowers with an inflated, leaflike calyx and long, curved stamens.
- current expenditure — expenditure taking place within the financial year in question
- current liabilities — business liabilities maturing within a year
- curvilinear tracery — tracery, especially of the 14th and 15th centuries, characterized by a pattern of irregular, boldly curved forms.
- customer experience — Customer experience is what customers feel while shopping, affected by such factors as how a store is laid out, the level of service they receive, and how easy it is to find products.
- customs declaration — a form declaring the nature and value of goods, etc, for customs purposes
- customs regulations — the regulations relating to customs in a particular country
- cyril of alexandria — Saint. ?375–444 ad, Christian theologian and patriarch of Alexandria. Feast day: June 27 or June 9
- dangling participle — a participle intended to modify a noun but having the wrong grammatical relationship to it as for example having left in the sentence Having left Europe for good, Peter's future seemed bleak indeed
- data driven machine — (language) (DDM) A dataflow language.
- data encryption key — (DEK) Used for the encryption of message text and for the computation of message integrity checks (signatures). See cryptography.
- data protection act — (legal) (DPA) A UK law guaranteeing rights to individuals in relation to personal data that others hold on them. For example, under the DPA, you have the right to see what data a company holds on you.
- de-compartmentalize — to divide into categories or compartments.
- declaration of love — a statement made by one person to another in which they say they are in love with the other person
- declare an interest — to make known one's connection, esp a prejudicial connection, with an affair
- defence expenditure — the amount that a country spends on military measures or resources
- deflate compression — deflate
- dendrochronological — Pertaining to dendrochronology.
- dental receptionist — a receptionist working in a dental surgery
- deoxycorticosterone — a corticosteroid hormone important in maintaining sodium and water balance in the body
- deoxyribonucleoside — a compound composed of deoxyribose and either a purine or a pyrimidine.
- deoxyribonucleotide — an ester of a deoxyribonucleoside and phosphoric acid; a constituent of DNA.
- department chairman — the chairman of a university department
- dereliction of duty — Dereliction of duty is deliberate or accidental failure to do what you should do as part of your job.
- descriptive grammar — an approach to grammar that is concerned with reporting the usage of native speakers without reference to proposed norms of correctness or advocacy of rules based on such norms.
- detective inspector — a police officer who investigates crime and who ranks above a detective sergeant but below a detective chief inspector
- devil's coach-horse — a large black rove beetle, Ocypus olens, with large jaws and ferocious habits
- devils-on-horseback — a savoury of prunes wrapped in bacon slices and served on toast
- diamond ring effect — a phenomenon, sometimes observed immediately before and after a total eclipse of the sun, in which one of Baily's beads is much brighter than the others, resembling a diamond ring around the moon.
- dictionary of names — a dictionary of given names that indicates whether a name is usually male, female, or unisex and often includes origins as well as meanings; for example, as by indicating that Evangeline, meaning “good news,” comes from Greek. Used primarily as an aid in selecting a name for a baby, dictionaries of names may also include lists of famous people who have shared a name and information about its current popularity ranking.
- dielectric constant — Electricity. the ratio of the flux density produced by an electric field in a given dielectric to the flux density produced by that field in a vacuum.
- dielectric strength — the maximum voltage that can be applied to a given material without causing it to break down, usually expressed in volts or kilovolts per unit of thickness.
- difference equation — (mathematics) A relation between consecutive elements of a sequence. The first difference is D u(n) = u(n+1) - u(n) where u(n) is the nth element of sequence u. The second difference is u(n+2) + a u(n+1) + b u(n) = 0 can be converted to a difference equation (in this case, a second order linear difference equation): D2 u(n) + p D u(n) + q u(n) = 0 and vice versa. a, b, p, q are constants.