18-letter words containing e, n, c, u
- nuclear capability — If a country has nuclear capability, it is able to produce nuclear power and usually nuclear weapons.
- numerical analysis — the branch of mathematics dealing with methods for obtaining approximate numerical solutions of mathematical problems.
- numerical aperture — a measure of the resolving power of a microscope, equal to the index of refraction of the medium in which the object is placed multiplied by the sine of the angle made with the axis by the most oblique ray entering the instrument, the resolving power increasing as the product increases. Abbreviation: N.A.
- numerical identity — the relation that holds between two relata when they are the selfsame entity, that is, when the terms designating them have the same reference
- numerical taxonomy — classification of organisms by a comparison of large numbers of observable characteristics that are given equal value instead of being weighted according to possible evolutionary significance.
- nurse practitioner — a registered nurse who has received special training for diagnosing and treating routine or minor ailments. Abbreviation: NP.
- nurse-practitioner — a registered nurse who has received special training for diagnosing and treating routine or minor ailments. Abbreviation: NP.
- nursery facilities — places where young children are looked after
- oblique projection — something that is oblique.
- october revolution — Russian Revolution (def 2).
- oedipus at colonus — a tragedy by Sophocles, written toward the end of his life and produced posthumously in 401? b.c.
- oil of catechumens — holy oil used in baptism, the ordination of a cleric, the coronation of a sovereign, or in the consecration of a church.
- on delicate ground — in a situation requiring tact
- on the back burner — low priority
- on your conscience — If you have something on your conscience, you feel guilty because you know you have done something wrong.
- orientation course — induction into sth
- over-conscientious — governed by conscience; controlled by or done according to one's inner sense of what is right; principled: She's a conscientious judge, who does not let personal prejudices influence her decisions.
- over-pronunciation — to pronounce (a word, syllable, etc.) in an exaggerated, affected, or excessively careful manner.
- pacinian corpuscle — (sometimes lowercase) a microscopic, onionlike body consisting of layers of connective tissue wrapped around a nerve ending, located in the deep layers of skin, tendons, etc., and functioning as a sensory receptor of pressure and vibration.
- paediatric nursing — the branch of nursing concerned with the care of children
- pan american union — a former organization of American republics dedicated to furthering understanding and peace: replaced in 1970 by the secretariat of the Organization of American States.
- parachute regiment — an airborne regiment of an army
- parallel computing — parallel processing
- parallel reduction — A form of applicative order reduction in which all redexes in an expression are reduced simultaneously. Variants include parallel outermost reduction and lenient reduction. See normal order reduction.
- pennsylvania dutch — the descendants of 17th- and 18th-century settlers in Pennsylvania from southwest Germany and Switzerland.
- perceptual defence — the process by which it is thought that certain stimuli are either not perceived or are distorted due to their offensive, unpleasant, or threatening nature
- perceptual mapping — the use of a graph or map in the development of a new product, in which the proximity of consumers' images of the new product to those of an ideal product provide an indication of the new product's likely success
- percussion flaking — a method of forming a flint tool by striking flakes from a stone core with another stone or a piece of bone or wood.
- percussion section — orchestra, group: drums, etc.
- percussion welding — a form of resistance welding in which the required pressure is provided by a hammerlike blow.
- perfect continuous — perfect progressive.
- perlocutionary act — the action of affecting someone by uttering certain words
- pernicious anaemia — Pernicious anaemia is a very severe blood disease.
- perpetual calendar — a calendar devised to be used for many years, as in determining the day of the week on which a given date falls.
- persistent cruelty — conduct causing fear of danger to the life or health of a spouse (used in matrimonial proceedings before magistrates)
- personal insurance — insurance on personal risk, such as car insurance, health insurance or loss of earnings insurance
- phoenician juniper — a type of juniper that is found in the Mediterranean region
- physical education — systematic instruction in sports, exercises, and hygiene given as part of a school or college program.
- picture-in-picture — a feature of some television receivers and similar devices in which one programme is displayed on the full TV screen at the same time as one or more other programmes are displayed in inset windows
- piecewise function — a function whose definition changes depending on the value of the independent variable
- play cat and mouse — Also called cat and rat. a children's game in which players in a circle keep a player from moving into or out of the circle and permit a second player to move into or out of the circle to escape the pursuing first player.
- pleasure principle — an automatic mental drive or instinct seeking to avoid pain and to obtain pleasure.
- plenary indulgence — a remission of the total temporal punishment that is still due to sin after absolution. Compare indulgence (def 6).
- plumber's merchant — a shop or business that sells things needed for the job of installing and repairing pipes, fixtures, etc, for water, drainage, and gas
- pneumatic conveyor — a tube through which powdered or granular material, such as cement, grain, etc is transported by a flow of air
- political question — a question regarded by the courts as being a matter to be determined by another department of government rather than of law and therefore one with which they will not deal, as the recognition of a foreign state.
- population balance — A population balance is a model showing particle sizes during a grinding process, which is used when designing a process.
- porcupine anteater — an echidna or spiny anteater.
- pour cold water on — If someone pours cold water on a plan or idea, they criticize it so much that people lose their enthusiasm for it.
- precious moonstone — moonstone (def 1).