16-letter words containing i, n, r, u
- over-cultivation — the act or art of cultivating.
- over-nourishment — something that nourishes; food, nutriment, or sustenance.
- over-speculation — the contemplation or consideration of some subject: to engage in speculation on humanity's ultimate destiny.
- overaccumulation — Accumulation of too much.
- overcautiousness — the quality or state of being too cautious, wary, or careful
- overenthusiastic — full of or characterized by enthusiasm; ardent: He seems very enthusiastic about his role in the play.
- oversubscription — to subscribe for more of than is available, expected, or required: The charity drive was oversubscribed by several thousand dollars.
- overurbanization — the act or fact of urbanizing, or taking on the characteristics of a city: Urbanization has led to more air pollution and increasing childhood asthma.
- oxidation number — the state of an element or ion in a compound with regard to the electrons gained or lost by the element or ion in the reaction that formed the compound, expressed as a positive or negative number indicating the ionic charge of the element or ion.
- pacific sturgeon — a dark gray sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, inhabiting marine and fresh waters along the northwestern coast of North America, valued as a food and sport fish.
- paediatric nurse — a nurse who specializes in the care of children
- paint-by-numbers — formulaic; showing no original thought or creativity
- painted trillium — a North American trillium, Trillium undulatum, having white flowers streaked with pink or purple.
- pairs tournament — an event in a sport such as tennis or darts open to pairs of competitors
- palmer peninsula — former name of Antarctic Peninsula.
- palomar mountain — mountain in SW Calif., near San Diego: site of an astronomical observatory: 6,140 ft (1,871 m)
- pancreatic juice — a thick, colorless, very alkaline fluid secreted by the pancreas, containing enzymes that break down protein, fat, and starch.
- partial function — A function which is not defined for all arguments of its input type. E.g. f(x) = 1/x if x /= 0. The opposite of a total function. In denotational semantics, a partial function f : D -> C may be represented as a total function ft : D' -> lift(C) where D' is a superset of D and ft x = f x if x in D ft x = bottom otherwise where lift(C) = C U bottom. Bottom (LaTeX \perp) denotes "undefined".
- peninsular state — Florida (used as a nickname).
- percussion drill — a drill that is operated by percussion
- period furniture — furniture that was made during a particular period in time
- perpendicularity — vertical; straight up and down; upright.
- perpetual motion — the motion of a theoretical mechanism that, without any losses due to friction or other forms of dissipation of energy, would continue to operate indefinitely at the same rate without any external energy being applied to it.
- personal tuition — private tuition
- personality cult — deliberately cultivated adulation of a person, esp a political leader
- peruvian rhatany — See under rhatany (def 1).
- picture moulding — the edge around a framed picture
- pilot production — sth produced on a trial basis
- pineal apparatus — a median outgrowth of the roof of the diencephalon in vertebrates that in some develops into the pineal eye and in others into the pineal gland.
- piscis austrinus — a small constellation in the S hemisphere lying between Aquarius and Grus and containing the first-magnitude star Fomalhaut
- platinum-iridium — (standard) A standard, against which all others of the same category are measured. Usage: silly. The notion is that one of whatever it is has actually been cast in platinum-iridium alloy and placed in the vault beside the Standard Kilogram at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures near Paris, as the bar defining the standard metre once was. "This garbage collection algorithm has been tested against the platinum-iridium cons cell in Paris." Compare golden.
- pleasure-seeking — always looking for pleasure
- pneumatic trough — a trough filled with liquid, especially water, for collecting gases in bell jars or the like by displacement.
- poitou-charentes — a region of W central France, on the Bay of Biscay: mainly low-lying
- portuguese india — a former Portuguese overseas territory on the W coast of India, consisting of the districts of Gôa, Daman, and Diu: annexed by India December 1961. Capital: Gôa.
- postremogeniture — a system of inheritance under which the estate of a deceased person goes to his youngest son. Also called ultimogeniture. Compare primogeniture (def 2).
- pourriture noble — noble rot.
- praetorian guard — the bodyguard of a military commander, especially the imperial guard stationed in Rome.
- pre-subscription — a sum of money given or pledged as a contribution, payment, investment, etc.
- prerevolutionary — of, pertaining to, characterized by, or of the nature of a revolution, or a sudden, complete, or marked change: a revolutionary junta.
- pressure flaking — a method of manufacturing a flint tool by pressing flakes from a stone core with a pointed implement, usually of wood tipped with antler or copper.
- pressure welding — the welding together of two objects by holding them together under pressure.
- preunderstanding — to perceive the meaning of; grasp the idea of; comprehend: to understand Spanish; I didn't understand your question.
- primary consumer — (in the food chain) an animal that feeds on plants; a herbivore.
- primary industry — an industry, as agriculture, forestry, or fishing, that deals in obtaining natural materials.
- principal clause — the main clause.
- print journalism — journalism as practiced in newspapers and magazines.
- private judgment — personal opinion formed independently of the expressed position of an institution, as in matters of religion or politics.
- private language — a language that is not merely secret or accidentally limited to one user, but that cannot in principle be communicated to another
- pro bono publico — for the public good or welfare.