12-letter words containing i, s, p, y
- pansexuality — Psychiatry. pertaining to the theory that all human behavior is based on sexuality.
- pantisocracy — a community, social group, etc, in which all have rule and everyone is equal
- papistically — in the manner of the Roman Catholic Church or a Roman Catholic
- paracystitis — inflammation of the connective tissue around the urinary bladder.
- paralysingly — in a manner that paralyses
- parapophysis — the process of a vertebra
- parapsychism — the experience of mental phenomena that are beyond the scope of normal physical explanation
- parasitology — the branch of biology dealing with parasites and the effects of parasitism.
- parasynapsis — the conjugation of chromosomes side by side; synapsis.
- parisyllabic — (of a noun or verb, in inflected languages) containing the same number of syllables in all or almost all inflected forms
- party spirit — If you talk about someone being in the party spirit, you mean that they are in the mood to enjoy a party or to have fun.
- passion play — a dramatic representation of the passion of Christ, as that given every ten years at the Bavarian village of Oberammergau.
- passionately — having, compelled by, or ruled by intense emotion or strong feeling; fervid: a passionate advocate of socialism.
- pay increase — a rise in pay or salary
- paying guest — lodger
- pecksniffery — hypocritically and unctuously affecting benevolence or high moral principles.
- pennsylvania — a state in the E United States. 45,333 sq. mi. (117,410 sq. km). Capital: Harrisburg. Abbreviation: PA (for use with zip code), Pa., Penn., Penna.
- pennywhistle — a cheap toy whistle orig. sold for a penny
- pepys' diary — a diary kept by Samuel Pepys from January 1, 1660 to May 31, 1669, in which are recorded his impressions of contemporary London life, the life of the court, and the administration of the navy.
- perfidiously — deliberately faithless; treacherous; deceitful: a perfidious lover.
- permissively — habitually or characteristically accepting or tolerant of something, as social behavior or linguistic usage, that others might disapprove or forbid.
- perniciously — causing insidious harm or ruin; ruinous; injurious; hurtful: pernicious teachings; a pernicious lie.
- persistently — persisting, especially in spite of opposition, obstacles, discouragement, etc.; persevering: a most annoyingly persistent young man.
- personifying — to attribute human nature or character to (an inanimate object or an abstraction), as in speech or writing.
- perspicacity — keenness of mental perception and understanding; discernment; penetration.
- perspiratory — of, relating to, or stimulating perspiration.
- persuasively — able, fitted, or intended to persuade: a very persuasive argument.
- petrophysics — the analysis of the constitution and characteristics of rocks
- phagocytosis — Physiology. the ingestion of a smaller cell or cell fragment, a microorganism, or foreign particles by means of the local infolding of a cell's membrane and the protrusion of its cytoplasm around the fold until the material has been surrounded and engulfed by closure of the membrane and formation of a vacuole: characteristic of amebas and some types of white blood cells.
- phenocrystic — relating to a phenocryst
- phosphatidyl — an atom or group of atoms containing one or more unpaired electrons derived from a phosphatide
- phrontistery — a place or establishment for thinking, studying, or learning
- phycologists — the branch of botany dealing with algae.
- phylacteries — Judaism. either of two small, black, leather cubes containing a piece of parchment inscribed with verses 4–9 of Deut. 6, 13–21 of Deut. 11, and 1–16 of Ex. 13: one is attached with straps to the left arm and the other to the forehead during weekday morning prayers by Orthodox and Conservative Jewish men.
- phylogenesis — the development or evolution of a particular group of organisms.
- physicalness — of or relating to the body: physical exercise.
- physiognomic — the face or countenance, especially when considered as an index to the character: a fierce physiognomy.
- physiography — the science of physical geography.
- physiologies — the branch of biology dealing with the functions and activities of living organisms and their parts, including all physical and chemical processes.
- physiologist — a specialist in physiology.
- physogastric — pertaining to the swollen, membranous abdomen of certain insects, especially termite and ant queens.
- phytogenesis — the origin and development of plants.
- pig industry — the people and activities involved in making pork products
- pityrosporum — a genus of fungi that live on the skin, esp that of the scalp and face, present in conditions such as dandruff and dermatitis
- plain as day — obvious
- plastocyanin — a blue protein found in green plants and in some bacteria
- plausibility — having an appearance of truth or reason; seemingly worthy of approval or acceptance; credible; believable: a plausible excuse; a plausible plot.
- play it safe — a dramatic composition or piece; drama.
- pneumocystis — any protozoan of the genus Pneumocystis, esp P. carinii, which is a cause of pneumonia in people whose immune defences have been lowered by drugs or a disease
- point system — Printing. a system for grading the sizes of type bodies, leads, etc., that employs the point as a unit of measurement. Compare point (def 48a).