12-letter words containing m, o, p, s
- phonesthemic — (of a speech sound) shared by a set of echoic or symbolic words, as the sn- of sneer, snarl, snatch, snide, snitch, snoop, etc.
- phosphamidon — a systemic and contact insecticide, C 1 0 H 1 9 ClNO 5 P, used against beetles, aphids, mites, and other crop pests.
- photocompose — to set (type) on a photocomposer.
- photorealism — a style of painting flourishing in the 1970s, especially in the U.S., England, and France, and depicting commonplace scenes or ordinary people, with a meticulously detailed realism, flat images, and barely discernible brushwork that suggests and often is based on or incorporates an actual photograph.
- phototropism — phototropic tendency or growth.
- phragmoplast — the cytoplasmic structure that forms at the equator of the spindle after the chromosomes have divided during the anaphase of plant mitosis, and that initiates cell division.
- phrasemonger — phrasemaker (def 2).
- physiognomic — the face or countenance, especially when considered as an index to the character: a fierce physiognomy.
- physostomous — having the mouth and air bladder connected by an air duct.
- pictorialism — Fine Arts. the creation or use of pictures or visual images, especially of recognizable or realistic representations.
- pinchcommons — a person who is frugal with food
- 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
- plasma torch — an electrical device for converting a gas into a plasma, used for melting metal
- plasmosomata — a kind of nucleoli
- plastic bomb — a bomb made of plastic explosive.
- plastic foam — expanded plastic.
- pleiochasium — a flowering system in which several buds come out at the same time
- pleiotropism — the condition of a gene affecting more than one characteristic of the phenotype
- pleomorphism — existence of an organism in two or more distinct forms during the life cycle; polymorphism.
- pleomorphous — characterized by pleomorphism
- plumbaginous — containing graphite.
- plumbiferous — yielding or containing lead.
- plumulaceous — having the texture of down.
- pneumatocyst — the cavity of a pneumatophore.
- pneumococcus — a bacterium, Diplococcus pneumoniae, causing lobar pneumonia and associated with certain other diseases, as pericarditis and meningitis.
- 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
- pocket mouse — any of numerous burrowing rodents, especially of the genus Perognathus, chiefly inhabiting arid regions of the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, having fur-lined cheek pouches and a long tail.
- 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).
- poison sumac — a shrub or small tree, Rhus vernix (or Toxicodendron vernix), of swampy areas of the eastern U.S., having pinnate leaves and causing severe dermatitis when touched by persons sensitive to it.
- pole compass — (formerly) a ship's compass elevated on a wooden pole to isolate it as much as possible from local magnetism.
- policymakers — a person responsible for making policy, especially in government.
- pollyannaism — an excessively or blindly optimistic person.
- polycentrism — the doctrine that a plurality of independent centers of leadership, power, or ideology may exist within a single political system, especially Communism.
- polygamistic — a person who practices or favors polygamy.
- polymorphism — the state or condition of being polymorphous.
- polymorphous — having, assuming, or passing through many or various forms, stages, or the like.
- polymyositis — a disorder characterized by the inflammation of multiple muscles
- polyomavirus — any of a genus (Polyomavirus) of papovaviruses that naturally infect wild and laboratory mice, and that cause tumors when injected into newborn mice
- polyribosome — polysome.
- pommel horse — a padded, somewhat cylindrical floor-supported apparatus, similar to a vaulting horse but having two graspable pommels on top, used by men for hand-supported balancing, rotating, and swinging maneuvers.
- pomona glass — an American art glass having one of its surfaces stained a pale amber color and the other surface etched.
- pompholygous — characterized by pompholyx
- ponzi scheme — a swindle in which a quick return, made up of money from new investors, on an initial investment lures the victim into much bigger risks.
- porismatical — porismatic
- port moresby — an independent republic in the W Pacific Ocean, comprising the E part of New Guinea and numerous near-lying islands, including the Bismarck Archipelago, the Admiralty Islands, the Trobriand Islands, and Bougainville and Buka in the Solomon Islands: a former Australian Trusteeship Territory; independent since 1975; member of the Commonwealth of Nations. 178,260 sq. mi. (461,693 sq. km). Capital: Port Moresby.
- post-fordism — the idea that modern industrial production has moved away from mass production in huge factories, as pioneered by Henry Ford, towards specialized markets based on small flexible manufacturing units
- post-primary — first or highest in rank or importance; chief; principal: his primary goals in life.
- postal meter — a postal franking machine
- postconsumer — noting or pertaining to a product after it has been used and recycled: a chair made of postconsumer plastic.
- postfeminist — relating to or occurring in the period after the feminist movement of the 1970s.