19-letter words containing f, a, s, c
- confession of faith — a formal public avowal of religious beliefs
- confocal microscope — a light microscope with an optical system designed to reject background from matter outside the focal plane and therefore allowing images of different sections of a specimen to be obtained
- cost-push inflation — inflation in which prices increase as a result of increased production costs, as labor and parts, even when demand remains the same.
- countertransference — in psychotherapy, transference in which the psychoanalyst or other psychotherapist substitutes the client for the original object of his or her own repressed impulses
- court of st james's — the official name of the royal court of Britain
- craters of the moon — a national monument in S Idaho: site of scenic lava-flow formations.
- credit default swap — a contract in which the parties exchange the exposure to loss should a creditor fail to make a payment when it comes due back
- creeping featuritis — (jargon) /kree'ping fee'-chr-i:`t*s/ A variant of creeping featurism, with its own spoonerism: "feeping creaturitis". Some people like to reserve this form for the disease as it actually manifests in software or hardware, as opposed to the lurking general tendency in designers' minds. -ism means "condition" or "pursuit of", whereas -itis usually means "inflammation of".
- cross-channel ferry — a ferry that transports passengers and vehicles across the English Channel
- cross-fertilization — fertilization by the fusion of male and female gametes from different individuals of the same species
- crystallized fruits — fruits that are covered in sugar which is melted and then allowed to harden
- cult of personality — a cult promoting adulation of a living national leader or public figure, as one encouraged by Stalin to extend his power.
- current transformer — A current transformer is a transformer that is designed to give an accurate current ratio for the purpose of measurement and control.
- deacetyltransferase — (enzyme) Any of a class of enzymes that remove acetyl groups, especially from a lysine residue of a histone.
- deaf without speech — (usually of a prelingually deaf person) able to utter sounds but not speak
- deathbed confession — a confession that somebody makes just before he or she dies, usually relating to some long concealed crime or secret
- deflate compression — deflate
- developable surface — a surface that can be flattened onto a plane without stretching or compressing any part of it, as a circular cone.
- dictionary of names — a dictionary of given names that indicates whether a name is usually male, female, or unisex and often includes origins as well as meanings; for example, as by indicating that Evangeline, meaning “good news,” comes from Greek. Used primarily as an aid in selecting a name for a baby, dictionaries of names may also include lists of famous people who have shared a name and information about its current popularity ranking.
- disenfranchisements — Plural form of disenfranchisement.
- distinctive feature — a feature of the sound system of a language that serves as the crucial distinguishing mark between two phonemes, as the distinctive feature of voicing, which distinguishes b from p in English, or nasality, which distinguishes m from b and p.
- effervescent tablet — Effervescent tablets break down quickly when they are dropped into water or another liquid.
- elastic deformation — In elastic deformation a material changes shape when a stress is applied to it but goes back to its original state when the stress is removed.
- electrostatic field — an electric field associated with static electric charges
- essence of bergamot — a fragrant essential oil from the fruit rind of this plant, used in perfumery and some teas (including Earl Grey)
- factitious disorder — any of various syndromes, as Münchausen syndrome, characterized by physical or psychological symptoms intentionally produced by a person and under voluntary control.
- fallacy of division — the fallacy of inferring that a property of the whole is also a property of parts or members of the whole (opposed to fallacy of composition).
- false consciousness — a Marxist theory that people are unable to see things, especially exploitation, oppression, and social relations, as they really are; the hypothesized inability of the human mind to develop a sophisticated awareness of how it is developed and shaped by circumstances.
- family-sized packet — a large packet
- farmers cooperative — an organization of farmers for marketing their products or buying supplies.
- fashion coordinator — a person in a department store or other establishment who coordinates activities centered upon or related to fashion, as fashion themes, shows, displays, and promotion.
- feast of dedication — Hanukkah.
- female circumcision — clitoridectomy.
- financial ombudsman — any of five British ombudsmen: the Banking Ombudsman, set up in 1986 to investigate complaints from bank customers; the Building Society Ombudsman, set up in 1987 to investigate complaints from building society customers; the Insurance Ombudsman, set up in 1981 to investigate complaints by policyholders (since 1988 this ombudsman has also operated a Unit Trust Ombudsman scheme); the Investment Ombudsman set up in 1989 to investigate complaints by investors (the Personal Investment Authority Ombudsman is responsible for investigating complaints by personal investors); and the Pensions Ombudsman, set up in 1993 to investigate complaints regarding pension schemes
- financial statement — a document that records the financial activities and state of an organization or person
- first-sale doctrine — a legal principle allowing the purchaser of a lawfully made copy of a copyright-protected work to sell or give away that copy without permission but not to reproduce it.
- five o'clock shadow — the rather dark stubble that appears on a man's face some hours after shaving, typically in the late afternoon if he shaved in the morning.
- five-o'clock shadow — the rather dark stubble that appears on a man's face some hours after shaving, typically in the late afternoon if he shaved in the morning.
- fixed cost contract — a contract in which the costs do not vary
- flannelmouth sucker — a sucker, Catostomus latipinnis, of the Colorado River and its tributaries.
- fluophosphoric acid — fluorophosphoric acid.
- focal plane shutter — an opaque shield in a camera, lying in the focal plane of the lens, that, when tripped, admits light to expose the film or plate for a predetermined period, usually a fraction of a second
- focal-plane shutter — a camera shutter situated directly in front of the film.
- forensic accountant — an accountant who specializes in applying accountancy skills to the purposes of the law
- forensic psychiatry — the use of psychiatric knowledge and techniques in questions of law, as in determining legal insanity.
- foundation subjects — the subjects studied as part of the National Curriculum, including the compulsory core subjects
- fractal compression — (algorithm) A technique for encoding images using fractals.
- francesca da rimini — Francesca da, Francesca da Rimini.
- franco-prussian war — the war between France and Prussia, 1870–71.
- fraternal insurance — insurance underwritten by a fraternal society, under either a legal reserve plan or an assessment plan.