18-letter words containing f, i, r, e
- self-deprecatingly — in a self-deprecating manner
- self-determination — determination by oneself or itself, without outside influence.
- self-disparagement — the act of disparaging.
- self-entertainment — the act of entertaining; agreeable occupation for the mind; diversion; amusement: Solving the daily crossword puzzle is an entertainment for many.
- self-fertilization — Botany. fertilization of an ovum of a plant by a male gamete from the same flower (opposed to cross-fertilization).
- self-glorification — a glorified or more splendid form of something.
- self-gratification — the act of pleasing or satisfying oneself, especially the gratifying of one's own impulses, needs, or desires.
- self-incriminating — serving to incriminate oneself or to expose oneself to prosecution: self-incriminating testimony.
- self-incrimination — the act of incriminating oneself or exposing oneself to prosecution, especially by giving evidence or testimony.
- self-instructional — pertaining to or constituting learning materials and conditions arranged so that students can proceed to learn on their own with little or no supervision.
- self-interrogation — the act of interrogating; questioning.
- self-mortification — the inflicting of pain or privation on oneself: He was certain that self-mortification was the only road to salvation.
- self-preoccupation — the state of being preoccupied.
- self-raising flour — flour with baking powder
- self-recrimination — the act of recriminating, or countercharging: Hope gave way to recrimination with both sides claiming the moral high ground.
- self-tapping screw — a screw designed to tap its corresponding female thread as it is driven.
- self-understanding — mental process of a person who comprehends; comprehension; personal interpretation: My understanding of the word does not agree with yours.
- senior aircraftman — a rank in the Royal Air Force comparable to that of a private in the army, though not the lowest rank in the Royal Air Force
- sense of direction — Your sense of direction is your ability to know roughly where you are, or which way to go, even when you are in an unfamiliar place.
- shift one's ground — to change one's argument or defense
- shoot from the hip — the act of shooting with a bow, firearm, etc.
- shrubby cinquefoil — a small shrub, Potentilla fruticosa, of the rose family, native to the Northern temperate region, having pinnate leaves and numerous, showy, bright-yellow flowers.
- sildenafil citrate — a white crystalline powder, C 22 H 30 N 6 O 4 S, that temporarily normalizes erectile function of the penis by blocking an enzyme known to inhibit the production of a chemical that causes erections: used in the form of a pill to treat impotence.
- silver certificate — a former paper currency first issued in 1878 by the U.S. federal government for circulation, equal to and redeemable for silver to a stated value.
- silvery cinquefoil — any of several plants belonging to the genus Potentilla, of the rose family, having yellow, red, or white five-petaled flowers, as P. reptans (creeping cinquefoil) of the Old World, or P. argentea (silvery cinquefoil) of North America.
- single-lens reflex — See under reflex camera. Abbreviation: SLR.
- six-finger country — an isolated area considered as being inhabited by people who practise inbreeding
- sixth-form college — (in England and Wales) a college offering A-level and other courses to pupils over sixteen from local schools, esp from those that do not have sixth forms
- smooth fox terrier — a breed of short-haired fox terrier with a mostly white, smooth coat.
- society of friends — a Christian denomination, founded in England c. 1650 by George Fox, that has no formal creed, liturgy, or priesthood and rejects violence in human relations, esp. warfare
- soda-lime feldspar — plagioclase.
- soldier of fortune — a person who independently seeks pleasure, wealth, etc., through adventurous exploits.
- sonic depth finder — a sonar instrument that uses echolocation to measure depths under water.
- spectrofluorimeter — an instrument in which the spectrum of secondarily emitted fluorescent light is used to identify chemical compounds.
- squinting modifier — a word or phrase that can modify either the words that precede it or those that follow, as frequently in the sentence Studying frequently is tedious.
- strait of magellan — a strait between the mainland of S South America and Tierra del Fuego, linking the S Pacific with the S Atlantic. Length: 600 km (370 miles). Width: up to 32 km (20 miles)
- street certificate — a certificate showing ownership of a specified number of shares of stock: endorsed by the owner and guaranteed by a broker, it may be traded without formal transfer on the books of the corporation issuing the stock.
- subsistence farmer — a farmer who consumes most of the produce he grows, leaving little or nothing to be marketed
- sulfuric anhydride — sulfur trioxide.
- sunflower seed oil — the oil extracted from sunflower seeds, used as a salad oil, in the manufacture of margarine, etc
- sweptwing aircraft — an aircraft which has wings that are swept (usually) backwards
- symmetric function — a polynomial in several indeterminates that stays the same under any permutation of the indeterminates.
- telford and wrekin — a unitary authority in W Central England, in Shropshire. Pop: 160 300 (2003 est). Area: 289 sq km (112 sq miles)
- territory of papua — a former territory of Australia, consisting of SE New Guinea and adjacent islands: now part of Papua New Guinea
- the bird has flown — the person in question has fled or escaped
- the first sea lord — the senior of the two serving naval officers who sits on the admiralty board of the Ministry of Defence
- the french riviera — the Mediterranean coastal region of France from Cannes eastward to Italy
- thermal efficiency — the ratio of the work output of a heat engine to the heat input expressed in the same units of energy.
- think the world of — the earth or globe, considered as a planet.
- thorfinn karlsefni — 980–after 1007, Icelandic navigator, explorer, and leader of early colonizing expedition to Vinland, in North America.