17-letter words containing n, o, r, a, l
- outline agreement — a contract, etc, setting out the preliminary terms or guidelines for an agreement; a preliminary agreement
- overhead lighting — lighting which throws light downwards by being situated on the ceiling or having a downward shade, etc
- overreach oneself — to fail because of trying to do more than one can
- pair annihilation — Physics. annihilation (def 3a).
- palace revolution — a challenge to or overthrow of a sovereign or other leader by members of the ruling family or group.
- paleoanthropology — the study of the origins and predecessors of the present human species, using fossils and other remains.
- paleoconservative — a person advocating an older, traditional type of conservatism, especially in politics.
- palette of narmer — a king of Egypt identified by modern scholars as the Menes of tradition and depicted as the unifier of Upper and Lower Egypt on an ancient slate tablet (Narmer Palette or Palette of Narmer) c3200 b.c. with relief carvings on both sides.
- parathyroid gland — any of several small oval glands usually lying near or embedded in the thyroid gland.
- particularization — to make particular.
- parts per million — the number of units (of a substance) present in a million units of another substance
- pastoral symphony — the Symphony No. 6 in F major (1807–08) by Ludwig van Beethoven.
- peloponnesian war — a war between Athens and Sparta, 431–404 b.c., that resulted in the transfer of hegemony in Greece from Athens to Sparta.
- pentachlorophenol — a white, crystalline, water-insoluble powder, C 6 Cl 5 OH, used chiefly in fungicides, disinfectants, and wood preservatives.
- pentylenetetrazol — a white, crystalline, bitter-tasting, water-soluble powder, C 6 H 1 0 N 4 , used as a respiratory and circulatory stimulant, especially in the treatment of barbiturate poisoning, and to induce a convulsive state in the treatment of certain mental diseases.
- peripheral vision — all that is visible to the eye outside the central area of focus; side vision.
- personal computer — a compact computer that uses a microprocessor and is designed for individual use, as by a person in an office or at home or school, for such applications as word processing, data management, financial analysis, or computer games. Abbreviation: PC.
- personal distance — personal space.
- personal equation — the tendency to personal bias that accounts for variation in interpretation or approach and for which allowance must be made.
- personal property — an estate or property consisting of movable articles both corporeal, as furniture or jewelry, or incorporeal, as stocks or bonds (distinguished from real property).
- personality clash — friction between two people who have different personalities or points of view
- personnel carrier — a vehicle used for transporting troops
- personnel manager — head of Human Resources department
- phenylformic acid — benzoic acid.
- philanthropically — of, pertaining to, engaged in, or characterized by philanthropy; benevolent: a philanthropic foundation.
- phonological rule — an operation in generative phonology that substitutes one sound or class of sounds for another in a phonological derivation.
- pillion passenger — a person who travels in a seat or place behind the rider of a motorcycle, scooter, horse, etc
- plains of abraham — a high plain adjoining the city of Quebec, Canada: battlefield where the English under Wolfe defeated the French under Montcalm in 1759.
- platinic chloride — chloroplatinic acid.
- point reyes lilac — a prostrate shrub, Ceanothus gloriosus, of southern California, having leathery, roundish leaves and purplish or deep-blue flowers.
- polar continental — a type of cold, dry air mass originating at high latitudes over land areas
- polar coordinates — Usually, polar coordinates. one of two coordinates used to locate a point in a plane by the length of its radius vector and the angle this vector makes with the polar axis (polar angle)
- polarizing filter — a camera lens filter used to control the plane of polarization of light entering the lens.
- police department — A police department is an official organization which is responsible for making sure that people obey the law.
- polyacrylonitrile — a polymer of acrylonitrile used in the manufacture of Orlon and other synthetic textiles.
- polymorphonuclear — (of a leukocyte) having a lobulate nucleus.
- polyvinyl butyral — a white, water-insoluble, polyvinyl acetal made with butyraldehyde, used chiefly as an interlayer in the manufacture of safety glass.
- portfolio manager — a person employed by others to make investments for them
- post-and-rail tea — (in the 19th century) a coarse tea in which floating particles resembled a post-and-rail fence
- postal stationery — an envelope, postal card, wrapper, or aérogramme, with the stamp printed directly on the paper.
- posttranslational — Genetics, Biochemistry. occurring after the synthesis of a polypeptide chain.
- postural drainage — a therapy for clearing congested lungs by placing the patient in a position for drainage by gravity, often accompanied by percussion with hollowed hands.
- potential divider — a resistor or series of resistors connected to a voltage source and used to provide voltages that are fractions of that of the source.
- pre-qualification — a quality, accomplishment, etc., that fits a person for some function, office, or the like.
- pre-revolutionary — of, pertaining to, characterized by, or of the nature of a revolution, or a sudden, complete, or marked change: a revolutionary junta.
- pre-technological — of or relating to technology; relating to science and industry.
- prealternate molt — the molt by which many birds replace only some and rarely all of the feathers assumed at the prebasic molt, usually occurring prior to breeding.
- preferential shop — a shop in which union members are preferred, usually by agreement of an employer with a union.
- presentationalism — a style of production in which the audience is addressed directly with songs, skits, exposition, etc., and no attempt is made at realism.
- prison population — all the people who are confined in prison