18-letter words containing c, o, n, s
- historical fiction — the genre of literature, film, etc., comprising narratives that take place in the past and are characterized chiefly by an imaginative reconstruction of historical events and personages.
- historical present — the present tense used in narrating a past event as if happening at the time of narration.
- homeowner's policy — a form of home insurance that provides compensation for damage, loss, or injury of property, personal belongings, or persons due to fire, theft, accidents, etc.
- honeysuckle family — the plant family Caprifoliaceae, typified by shrubs and woody vines having opposite leaves, clusters of usually flaring, narrow, tubular flowers, and various types of fruit, and including the elder, honeysuckle, snowberry, twinflower, and viburnum.
- honorary secretary — a unpaid person who is one of the managers of an organization
- hotel receptionist — a person who looks after guests when they first arrive at a hotel, checking them in, giving them their keys, etc
- housing conditions — the physical state of houses or dwellings
- hydrofluorocarbons — Plural form of hydrofluorocarbon.
- hypermodern school — a style of chess characterized by control of the centre from the flanks
- hypernationalistic — a person devoted to nationalism.
- hypodermic syringe — a small glass piston or barrel syringe having a detachable, hollow needle for use in injecting solutions subcutaneously.
- hysterical reasons — (Or "hysterical raisins") A variant on the stock phrase "for historical reasons", indicating specifically that something must be done in some stupid way for backward compatibility, and moreover that the feature it must be compatible with was the result of a bad design in the first place. "All IBM PC video adaptors have to support MDA text mode for hysterical reasons." Compare bug-for-bug compatible.
- ideas of reference — a schizophrenic symptom in which the patient thinks that things completely disconnected from him are influencing him or conveying messages to him
- immunodeficiencies — Plural form of immunodeficiency.
- immunofluorescence — any of various techniques for detecting an antigen or antibody in a sample by coupling its specifically interactive antibody or antigen to a fluorescent compound, mixing with the sample, and observing the reaction under an ultraviolet-light microscope.
- immunohistological — the microscopic study of tissues with the aid of antibodies that bind to tissue components and reveal their presence.
- imploded consonant — a consonant which is pronounced with or by implosion
- in company with sb — If you feel, believe, or know something in company with someone else, you both feel, believe, or know it.
- in comparison with — when compared to
- in inverted commas — If you say in inverted commas after a word or phrase, you are indicating that it is inaccurate or unacceptable in some way, or that you are quoting someone else.
- in terrorem clause — a clause in a will stating that a beneficiary who contests the will shall lose his or her legacy.
- in the face of sth — If you take a particular action or attitude in the face of a problem or difficulty, you respond to that problem or difficulty in that way.
- incentive discount — a discount on goods offered to customers, usually as a reward for repeated business or for bringing in other customers
- incommensurability — not commensurable; having no common basis, measure, or standard of comparison.
- inconsequentiality — of little or no importance; insignificant; trivial.
- inconsiderableness — Quality of being inconsiderable.
- independent school — (in Britain) a school that is neither financed nor controlled by the government or local authorities
- indirect discourse — discourse consisting not of an exact quotation of a speaker's words but of a version transformed from them for grammatical inclusion in a larger sentence. He said he was hungry is an example of indirect discourse.
- indus civilization — an ancient civilization that flourished in the Indus River valley, from about 2500 to 1500 b.c.: extensive archaeological excavations at the main sites of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa in Pakistan.
- infectious disease — illness spread by person to person
- initial commission — Initial commission is commission that is paid to someone who sells or recommends a financial product for the first time.
- inspector of taxes — an official of HMRC whose work is to assess individuals' income tax liability
- instruction manual — how-to, usage guide
- intelligence corps — a military department that gathers and analyzes information
- intensional object — the object of a propositional attitude that may or may not exist, as in Robert is dreaming of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This must be an intensional (or opaque) context, for otherwise, since there is no pot of gold, Robert would be dreaming of nothing
- intercartilaginous — (anatomy) Within cartilage.
- interconnectedness — the quality or condition of being interconnected; interrelatedness: the interconnectedness of all nations working toward world peace.
- internal secretion — a secretion, esp a hormone, that is absorbed directly into the blood
- investment account — a bank account in which money is saved long-term to accrue interest
- investment company — a company that invests its funds in other companies and issues its own securities against these investments.
- involuntary muscle — muscle: contracts involuntarily
- irreconcilableness — The quality of being irreconcilable; irreconcilability; incompatibility; incongruity.
- irreproachableness — The quality or state of being irreproachable; integrity; innocence.
- isabella of france — 1292–1358, wife (1308–27) of Edward II of England, whom, aided by her lover, Roger de Mortimer, she deposed; mother of Edward III
- isthmus of corinth — a narrow strip of land between the Gulf of Corinth and the Saronic Gulf: crossed by the Corinth Canal making navigation possible between the gulfs
- italian corn salad — a southern European plant, Valerianella eriocarpa, of the valerian family, having edible, spoon-shaped, hairy leaves and dense clusters of pale-blue flowers.
- jacksonville beach — a city in NE Florida.
- japanese artichoke — Chinese artichoke.
- job classification — an arrangement of different types of employment within a company or industry, according to the skill, experience, or training required.
- john birch society — an ultraconservative organization, founded in December 1958 by Robert Welch, Jr., chiefly to combat alleged Communist activities in the U.S.