16-letter words containing c, o, l, s, u
- oligonucleotides — Plural form of oligonucleotide.
- optical illusion — something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality.
- osculating plane — the plane containing the circle of curvature of a point on a given curve.
- over-speculation — the contemplation or consideration of some subject: to engage in speculation on humanity's ultimate destiny.
- panel discussion — a formal discussion before an audience for which the topic, speakers, etc., have been selected in advance.
- paratuberculosis — Johne's disease.
- people's commune — a usually rural, Communist Chinese social and administrative unit of from 2000 to 4000 families combined for collective farming, fishing, mining, or industrial projects.
- percussion drill — a drill that is operated by percussion
- person of colour — a person who is not White
- personality cult — deliberately cultivated adulation of a person, esp a political leader
- photoluminescent — luminescence induced by the absorption of infrared radiation, visible light, or ultraviolet radiation.
- political asylum — asylum provided by one nation to refugees, especially political refugees, from another nation.
- pseudo-political — of, relating to, or concerned with politics: political writers.
- pseudo-realistic — interested in, concerned with, or based on what is real or practical: a realistic estimate of costs; a realistic planner.
- pseudocopulation — pollination of plants, esp orchids, by male insects while attempting to mate with flowers that resemble the female insect
- pseudohistorical — of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events: historical records; historical research.
- psychoimmunology — the branch of medicine studying the effects of psychological phenomena on the immune system; the intersection of psychology and immunology.
- public ownership — ownership by the state; nationalization
- public relations — (used with a plural verb) the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc.
- public schoolboy — a boy attending a public school, or a man who attended one
- public transport — fare-paying travel
- punctuationalism — punctuated equilibrium.
- quasi-commercial — of, relating to, or characteristic of commerce.
- quasi-compulsory — required; mandatory; obligatory: compulsory education.
- quasi-diplomatic — of, relating to, or engaged in diplomacy: diplomatic officials.
- quasi-historical — of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events: historical records; historical research.
- refuse collector — someone who collects of rubbish and waste, usually in a rubbish or refuse truck, before final disposal
- reinsurance pool — the grouping of insurers that provide partial or complete insurance coverage to other insurers for (a risk on which a policy has already been issued)
- reporting clause — A reporting clause is a clause which indicates that you are talking about what someone said or thought. For example, in 'She said that she was hungry', 'She said' is a reporting clause.
- scarborough lily — a plant, Vallota speciosa, of the amaryllis family, native to southern Africa, having clusters of funnel-shaped, scarlet flowers.
- schoolgirl crush — an infatuation that a young girl has, usually for an older man such as a teacher or an actor, which is seen as superficial and unlikely to last for long
- schouten islands — a group of islands belonging to Papua New Guinea, in the Pacific Oceans, off the N coast of New Guinea.
- sclerenchymatous — supporting or protective tissue composed of thickened, dry, and hardened cells.
- sebaceous glands — any of the cutaneous glands that secrete oily matter for lubricating hair and skin.
- secondary colour — a colour formed by mixing two primary colours
- security council — the division of the United Nations charged with maintaining international peace, composed of five permanent members (U.S., Russian Federation, France, United Kingdom, and the People's Republic of China) and ten temporary members, each serving for two years.
- self-consequence — self-important character or quality; self-importance.
- self-constituted — constituted as such by oneself or itself
- self-consumption — the act of consuming, as by use, decay, or destruction.
- self-cultivation — the act or art of cultivating.
- self-destruction — the destruction or ruination of oneself or one's life.
- self-exculpatory — intended to excuse oneself from blame or guilt
- self-lubrication — the process of becoming lubricated without external factors
- self-preoccupied — preoccupied by one's own concerns
- self-pronouncing — having the pronunciation indicated, especially by diacritical marks added on original spellings rather than by phonetic symbols: a self-pronouncing dictionary.
- self-reproducing — to make a copy, representation, duplicate, or close imitation of: to reproduce a picture.
- self-resourceful — able to deal skillfully and promptly with new situations, difficulties, etc.
- sexual selection — a special type of natural selection in which the sexes acquire distinct forms either because the members of one sex choose mates with particular features or because in the competition for mates among the members of one sex only those with certain traits succeed.
- single occupancy — a type of travel accommodation, as at a hotel, for one person in a room.
- social evolution — the gradual development of society and social forms, institutions, etc., usually through a series of peaceful stages. Compare revolution (def 2).