15-letter words containing c, o, d, e
- degree of curve — a continuously bending line, without angles.
- delaying action — a measure or measures taken to gain time, as when weaker military forces harass the advance of a superior enemy without coming to a pitched battle
- delmonico steak — club steak
- delta reduction — (theory) In lambda-calculus extended with constants, delta reduction replaces a function applied to the required number of arguments (a redex) by a result. E.g. plus 2 3 --> 5. In contrast with beta reduction (the only kind of reduction in the pure lambda-calculus) the result is not formed simply by textual substitution of arguments into the body of a function. Instead, a delta redex is matched against the left hand side of all delta rules and is replaced by the right hand side of the (first) matching rule. There is notionally one delta rule for each possible combination of function and arguments. Where this implies an infinite number of rules, the result is usually defined by reference to some external system such as mathematical addition or the hardware operations of some computer. For other types, all rules can be given explicitly, for example Boolean negation: not True = False not False = True (1997-02-20)
- demassification — to cause (society or a social system) to become less uniform or centralized; diversify or decentralize: to demassify the federal government.
- democratifiable — able to be made into a democracy
- democratisation — Alternative spelling of democratization.
- democratization — The introduction of democracy, its functions or principles, to an area or country which did not have democracy previously.
- demographically — of or relating to demography, the science of vital and social statistics.
- demulsification — to break down (an emulsion) into separate substances incapable of re-forming the emulsion that was broken down.
- demystification — to rid of mystery or obscurity; clarify: to demystify medical procedures.
- demythification — the act of demythifying
- dendrochemistry — (chemistry) the science, related to dendrochronology, that uses the analysis of trace minerals in tree rings to study air pollution in past times.
- denitrification — to remove nitrogen or nitrogen compounds from.
- deoch-an-doruis — a parting drink or stirrup cup
- dephlogisticate — to reduce or remove inflammation from
- deposit account — A deposit account is a type of bank account where the money in it earns interest.
- deprovincialize — to make provincial in character.
- derhotacization — A distortion in (or an Inability to pronounce) the sound of letter R, causing the R to be omitted as a consonant or changing /\u025d/ or /\u025a/ to /\u025c/,/\u0259/, or another vowel if a vocalic.
- dermatoglyphics — the lines forming a skin pattern, esp on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet
- desacralization — the process of rendering anything less sacred; secularization
- descending node — the node through which an orbiting body passes as it moves to the south (opposed to ascending node).
- descriptionless — Without a description.
- desertification — Desertification is the process by which a piece of land becomes dry, empty, and unsuitable for growing trees or crops on.
- design recovery — (process) A subtask of reverse engineering in which domain knowledge, external information, and deduction of fuzzy reasoning are added to the observations of the subject system to identify meaningful higher level abstractions beyond those obtained directly by examining the system itself. In other words, design recovery aims to work out what a system or component was designed to do rather than just examining its subcomponents and their interrelationships.
- desocialization — to remove from a customary social environment: Imprisonment desocializes the inmates.
- despecification — The act of generalizing, or making less specific.
- destruct button — a button that, when pressed, causes a missile or rocket to destruct
- desynchronizing — Present participle of desynchronize.
- detective novel — a novel in which a detective tries to solve a crime
- detective story — a story in which a detective tries to solve a crime
- deuteronomistic — one of the writers of material used in the early books of the Old Testament.
- devitrification — The formation of small crystals in a glass as a result of slow cooling from the molten state.
- dezincification — removal of zinc.
- diadochokinesia — the normal ability to perform rapidly alternating muscular movements, as flexion and extension.
- diadochokinesis — the normal ability to perform rapidly alternating muscular movements, as flexion and extension.
- dialectological — Of or relating to dialectology.
- dichlorobenzene — any of a group of three insoluble isomeric chemical compounds used in solvents, insecticides, and dyes
- dichloromethane — a noxious colourless liquid widely used as a solvent, e.g. in paint strippers. Formula: CH2Cl2
- dichotomous key — a key used to identify a plant or animal in which each stage presents descriptions of two distinguishing characters, with a direction to another stage in the key, until the species is identified
- dichotomousness — the quality of being dichotomous
- dichroic filter — an optical colour filter operating on the principle of wave interference between closely spaced reflecting surfaces, rather than by colour absorption
- dictation speed — a speed of speaking that enables someone to take down what is being said
- dictatorialness — The state or quality of being dictatorial.
- dideoxycytidine — The drug zalcitabine.
- dielectric loss — the loss of power in a dielectric caused by the loss of energy in the form of heat generated by an electric field.
- diffractometers — Plural form of diffractometer.
- diffractometric — Relating to diffractometry; measured using a diffractometer.
- direct coupling — conductive coupling between electronic circuits, as opposed to inductive or capacitative coupling
- direct positive — a positive obtained from another positive without an intermediate step.