16-letter words containing i, s, r
- operating-system — the collection of software that directs a computer's operations, controlling and scheduling the execution of other programs, and managing storage, input/output, and communication resources. Abbreviation: OS.
- ophthalmoparesis — (medicine) A partial or complete paralysis of the extraocular muscles which are responsible for eye movements.
- opportunity cost — the money or other benefits lost when pursuing a particular course of action instead of a mutually-exclusive alternative: The company cannot afford the opportunity cost attached to policy decisions made by the current CEO.
- opportunity shop — a shop selling second-hand goods for charitable funds
- opposed-cylinder — (of an internal-combustion engine) having cylinders on opposite sides of the crankcase in the same plane
- optical tweezers — a laser device used to study, manipulate, or trap a microscopic object, as a microorganism or cell, with nanometer precision.
- order of service — a prescribed form of liturgical service, or of administration of a rite or ceremony
- orthodox judaism — Judaism as observed by Orthodox Jews.
- orthosympathetic — Of or pertaining to the sympathetic component of the autonomic nervous system.
- osmium tetroxide — a crystalline or amorphous, colorless, poisonous compound, OsO 4 , soluble in water, alcohol, and ether: used for microscopic staining, in photography, and as a catalyst in organic synthesis.
- osmotic pressure — the force that a dissolved substance exerts on a semipermeable membrane, through which it cannot penetrate, when separated by it from pure solvent.
- otherworldliness — The quality of being otherworldly.
- otolaryngologist — Otorhinolaryngologist.
- outside director — a director of a company who is not employed by that company but is often employed by a holding or associated company
- over-consumption — the act of consuming, as by use, decay, or destruction.
- over-descriptive — having the quality of describing; characterized by description: a descriptive passage in an essay.
- over-nourishment — something that nourishes; food, nutriment, or sustenance.
- over-sentimental — expressive of or appealing to sentiment, especially the tender emotions and feelings, as love, pity, or nostalgia: a sentimental song.
- over-speculation — the contemplation or consideration of some subject: to engage in speculation on humanity's ultimate destiny.
- overcautiousness — the quality or state of being too cautious, wary, or careful
- overcompensating — Present participle of overcompensate.
- overcompensation — a pronounced striving to neutralize and conceal a strong but unacceptable character trait by substituting for it an opposite trait.
- 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.
- overwhelmingness — that overwhelms; overpowering: The temptation to despair may become overwhelming.
- 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
- pair of scissors — two-bladed cutting tool
- pairs tournament — an event in a sport such as tennis or darts open to pairs of competitors
- palmer peninsula — former name of Antarctic Peninsula.
- panoramic screen — a very wide screen, as of a television, etc
- papillary muscle — one of the small bundles of muscles attached to the ventricle walls and to the chordae tendineae that tighten these tendons during ventricular contraction.
- parallel sailing — sailing along a parallel of latitude.
- paraprofessional — a person trained to assist a doctor, lawyer, teacher, or other professional, but not licensed to practice in the profession.
- paratuberculosis — Johne's disease.
- parents' evening — an occasion when the parents of children at a school and their teachers come together (outside normal school hours, in the evening) in order to discuss the progress or work of the children
- parochial school — a primary or secondary private school supervised by a religious organization, especially a Roman Catholic day school affiliated with a parish or a holy order.
- partial pressure — the pressure that a gas in a mixture of gases would exert if it occupied the same volume as the mixture at the same temperature.
- particle physics — the branch of physics that deals with the properties and behavior of elementary particles.
- parts of lindsey — an area in E England constituting a former administrative division of Lincolnshire
- pass-band filter — band-pass filter
- passenger pigeon — an extinct pigeon, Ectopistes migratorius, once found in great numbers in North America, noted for its sustained migratory flights.
- passive transfer — Immunology. injection of lymphocytes or antibody from an immune or sensitized donor to a nonimmune host in order to impart immunity or test for allergic reactions.
- past progressive — a verb form consisting of an auxiliary be in the past tense followed by a present participle and used especially to indicate that an action or event was incomplete or in progress at a point of reference in the past, as was sleeping in I was sleeping when the phone rang.
- pastoral epistle — any one of three New Testament books, I or II Timothy or Titus, that stress pastoral and ecclesiastical concerns.
- pays de la loire — a region of W France, on the Bay of Biscay: generally low-lying, drained by the River Loire and its tributaries; agricultural
- pearls of wisdom — good advice, wise words
- pearly razorfish — See under razorfish.
- pectoralis major — the larger of the two large chest muscles that assist in movements of the shoulder and upper arm