17-letter words containing f, i, n
- reference library — A reference library is a library that contains books which you can look at in the library itself but which you cannot borrow.
- reflection nebula — a cloud of interstellar gas and dust that reflects the light of neighboring stars.
- reflexive pronoun — A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun such as 'myself' which refers back to the subject of a sentence or clause. For example, in the sentence 'He made himself a cup of tea', the reflexive pronoun 'himself' refers back to 'he'.
- reformed spelling — a revised orthography intended to simplify the spelling of English words, especially to eliminate unpronounced letters, as by substituting thru for through, tho for though, slo for slow, etc.
- refuse collection — the collection of rubbish and waste, usually in a rubbish or refuse truck, before final disposal
- repeating firearm — a firearm capable of discharging a number of shots without reloading.
- republic of china — People's Republic of, a country in E Asia. 3,691,502 sq. mi. (9,560,990 sq. km). Capital: Beijing.
- republic of yemen — Republic of, a country in S Arabia, formed in 1990 by the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. 207,000 sq. mi. (536,130 sq. km). Capital: Aden.
- republic-of-china — People's Republic of, a country in E Asia. 3,691,502 sq. mi. (9,560,990 sq. km). Capital: Beijing.
- resurrection fern — a drought-resistant, evergreen, epiphytic fern, Polypodium polypodioides, of subtropical to tropical America, appearing to be a ball of coiled, dead leaves in the dry season but reviving with moisture.
- retention of risk — Retention of risk is the net amount of any risk which an insurance company does not reinsure but keeps for its own account.
- retirement relief — (formerly, in Britain) relief from capital-gains tax given to people at or over 50 when disposing of business assets
- return of capital — A return of capital is a situation in which you receive back money that was previously invested.
- returning officer — a public official appointed to conduct and preside at an election.
- road-fund licence — a licence showing that the tax payable in respect of a motor vehicle has been paid
- rotation of crops — a system of rotating in a fixed order the kinds of crops, as grain or grass, grown in the same field, to maintain soil fertility
- russian wolfhound — borzoi.
- sacrificial anode — Chemistry. an anode that is attached to a metal object subject to electrolysis and is decomposed instead of the object.
- safety in numbers — If you say that there is safety in numbers, you mean that you are safer doing something if there are a lot of people doing it rather than doing it alone.
- safety inspection — an inspection of a place carried out to ensure that it is safe and not dangerous
- safety precaution — a precaution that is taken in order to ensure that something is safe and not dangerous
- saint elmo's fire — corona discharge.
- san francisco bay — a bay in W California: the harbor of San Francisco; connected with the Pacific by the Golden Gate strait. 50 miles (80 km) long; 3–12 miles (5–19 km) wide.
- sanitary landfill — landfill.
- scarlet firethorn — a Eurasian evergreen, thorny shrub, Pyracantha coccinea, of the rose family, having white, hairy flower clusters and bright red berries.
- schiff-s--reagent — a solution of rosaniline and sulfurous acid in water, used to test for the presence of aldehydes.
- scientific method — a method of research in which a problem is identified, relevant data are gathered, a hypothesis is formulated from these data, and the hypothesis is empirically tested.
- scientific theory — a coherent group of propositions formulated to explain a group of facts or phenomena in the natural world and repeatedly confirmed through experiment or observation: the scientific theory of evolution.
- scratch 'n' sniff — denoting a product that releases a smell when scratched
- self-administered — to manage (affairs, a government, etc.); have executive charge of: to administer the law.
- self-aggrandizing — increase of one's own power, wealth, etc., usually aggressively.
- self-annihilation — self-destruction; suicide.
- self-appreciation — gratitude; thankful recognition: They showed their appreciation by giving him a gold watch.
- self-commendation — the act of commending; recommendation; praise: commendation for a job well done.
- self-condemnation — the act of condemning.
- self-conditioning — Also called operant conditioning, instrumental conditioning. a process of changing behavior by rewarding or punishing a subject each time an action is performed until the subject associates the action with pleasure or distress.
- self-confirmation — the act of confirming.
- self-consecration — the act of setting oneself to a task or vocation without ordination by others or by a religious body.
- self-conservation — the act of conserving; prevention of injury, decay, waste, or loss; preservation: conservation of wildlife; conservation of human rights.
- self-constituting — to compose; form: mortar constituted of lime and sand.
- self-depreciating — self-deprecating.
- self-dissociation — an act or instance of dissociating.
- self-emancipation — the act of emancipating.
- self-entertaining — affording entertainment; amusing; diverting: We spent an entertaining evening at the theater.
- self-flagellation — the act or process of flagellating.
- self-impregnating — to make pregnant; get with child or young.
- self-incompatible — not capable of self-pollination.
- self-interpreting — to give or provide the meaning of; explain; explicate; elucidate: to interpret the hidden meaning of a parable.
- self-introduction — the act of introducing or the state of being introduced.
- self-perpetuating — continuing oneself in office, rank, etc., beyond the normal limit.