12-letter words containing c, h, e, n
- corner house — a house situated on the corner of two streets
- coronal hole — a part of the solar corona that appears dark on optical and x-ray images and is characterized by low temperature and low density.
- costophrenic — Synonym of phrenicocostal.
- counter hand — a person who works behind a counter; assistant
- countercharm — an object or action that is capable of destroying a magical charm
- countercheck — a check or restraint, esp one that acts in opposition to another
- counterearth — (in Pythagorean astronomy) a planet, out of sight from our part of the earth, whose shadow upon the sun and moon, cast by a central fire that is also out of sight, causes the eclipses.
- counterlight — a light opposite something, such as a painting, that negatively affects the appearance of that object
- countermarch — to march or cause to march back along the same route
- counterpunch — to punch an attacking opponent; return an attack
- countershaft — an intermediate shaft that is driven by, but rotates in the opposite direction to, a main shaft, esp in a gear train
- counterweigh — counterbalance
- crapehanging — the practice of hanging crape, esp as a sign of mourning
- crepe-hanger — a person who sees the gloomy side of things; pessimist.
- cringeworthy — Causing feelings of embarrassment or awkwardness.
- criosphinxes — Plural form of criosphinx.
- crossbencher — A member of the British parliament, or a similar assembly, who does not vote regularly with either the government or the main opposition party.
- crowned head — a monarch
- cycle crunch — (jargon) A situation wherein the number of people trying to use a computer simultaneously has reached the point where no one can get enough cycles because they are spread too thin and the system has probably begun to thrash. This scenario is an inevitable result of Parkinson's Law applied to time-sharing. Usually the only solution is to buy more computer. Happily, this has rapidly become easier since the mid-1980s, so much so that the very term "cycle crunch" now has a faintly archaic flavour; most hackers now use workstations or personal computers as opposed to traditional time-sharing systems.
- cycloheptane — (organic compound) An alicyclic hydrocarbon, C7H14; a volatile inflammable liquid.
- cyclohexanol — (organic compound) The alicyclic alcohol derived from cyclohexane by replacement of a hydrogen atom with a hydroxyl group.
- data channel — (communications) A channel (on a BRI or PRI line) used to carry control information, to set up connections on the associated bearer channels. The name wasn't too bad back when users were sending voice (not data) over the bearer channels, but in 1997 it's quite a misnomer.
- death notice — a public announcement, e.g. in a newspaper, that someone has died
- dechlorinate — to remove chlorine from (a substance)
- decipherment — to make out the meaning of (poor or partially obliterated writing, etc.): to decipher a hastily scribbled note.
- detachedness — the quality of being detached or separated
- detectaphone — a device for listening secretly to others' telephone conversations
- detectophone — a secret listening device, the predecessor of the modern 'bug'
- diathermancy — the property of transmitting infrared radiation
- dibranchiate — of, relating to, or belonging to the Dibranchiata, a group or former order of cephalopod molluscs, including the octopuses, squids, and cuttlefish, having two gills
- diencephalic — Of or pertaining to the diencephalon.
- diencephalon — the posterior section of the forebrain.
- diet kitchen — a kitchen, as in a hospital, where special food is prepared for those requiring it.
- disenchanted — to rid of or free from enchantment, illusion, credulity, etc.; disillusion: The harshness of everyday reality disenchanted him of his idealistic hopes.
- disenchanter — One who disenchants.
- disfranchise — to deprive (a person) of a right of citizenship, as of the right to vote.
- dodecahedron — a solid figure having 12 faces.
- dodecaphonic — musical composition using the 12-tone technique.
- dog's chance — little likelihood; small chance (usually used in the negative): That project didn't have a dog's chance of succeeding.
- drum machine — a device that simulates percussion sounds in various combinations and rhythms, and can alter digitally stored drum sounds or make digital recordings of drum sounds.
- duncan phyfe — of, relating to, or resembling the furniture made by Duncan Phyfe, especially the earlier pieces in the Sheraton and Directoire styles.
- duplex chain — a roller chain having two sets of rollers linked together, used for heavy-duty applications
- dutch borneo — the former name of the southern and larger part of the island of Borneo: now part of Indonesia.
- echinococcus — any of a number of tapeworms of the genus Echinococcus whose larvae are parasitic in humans and domestic animals.
- echinodermal — (zoology) Relating or belonging to the echinoderms.
- echo sounder — a sonar instrument that uses echolocation to measure depths under water.
- echogenicity — (medical) The ability to create an echo that can be detected in an ultrasound examination.
- echolocation — the general method of locating objects by determining the time for an echo to return and the direction from which it returns, as by radar or sonar.
- edvard munch — Edvard [ed-vahrd] /ˈɛd vɑrd/ (Show IPA), 1863–1944, Norwegian painter and graphic artist.
- egg sandwich — two slices of bread filled with chopped egg