16-letter words containing o, l, d, e, n
- curmudgeonliness — The state or condition of being curmudgeonly.
- dangling pointer — (programming) A reference that doesn't actually lead anywhere. In C and some other languages, a pointer that doesn't actually point at anything valid. Usually this happens because it formerly pointed to something that has moved or disappeared, e.g. a heap-allocated block which has been freed and reused. Used as jargon in a generalisation of its technical meaning; for example, a local phone number for a person who has since moved is a dangling pointer.
- de morgan's laws — (in formal logic and set theory) the principles that conjunction and disjunction, or union and intersection, are dual. Thus the negation of P & Q is equivalent to not-P or not-Q
- de-anglicization — (in Ireland) the elimination of English influence, language, customs, etc
- de-stalinization — the elimination of the influence of Stalin
- dead-man's float — a prone floating position, used especially by beginning swimmers, with face downward, legs extended backward, and arms stretched forward.
- dealcoholization — to remove some or all of the alcohol from (a drink).
- dear john letter — a letter from someone (esp to a man) breaking off a love affair
- debenture holder — a person or organization holds a debenture
- decapitalization — to deprive of capital; discourage capital formation; withdraw capital from: The government decapitalized industry with harsh tax policies.
- decentralisation — Alternative spelling of decentralization.
- decentralization — to distribute the administrative powers or functions of (a central authority) over a less concentrated area: to decentralize the national government.
- decimal fraction — a fraction whose denominator is some power of 10, usually indicated by a dot (decimal point or point) written before the numerator: as 0.4 = 4/10; 0.126 = 126/1000.
- decision problem — (theory) A problem with a yes/no answer. Determining whether some potential solution to a question is actually a solution or not. E.g. "Is 43669" a prime number?". This is in contrast to a "search problem" which must find a solution from scratch, e.g. "What is the millionth prime number?". See decidability.
- declare war (on) — to make a formal declaration of being at war (with)
- declassification — to remove the classification from (information, a document, etc.) that restricts access in terms of secrecy, confidentiality, etc. Compare classification (def 5).
- deconstructively — In a deconstructive manner.
- decontextualized — removed from the usual context
- dedolomitization — a metamorphic process in which the magnesium in dolomitic rock forms new minerals, as brucite and forsterite, and the calcium forms calcite.
- deflationary gap — a situation in which total spending in an economy is insufficient to buy all the output that can be produced with full employment
- deflecting force — the apparent deflection (Coriolis acceleration) of a body in motion with respect to the earth, as seen by an observer on the earth, attributed to a fictitious force (Coriolis force) but actually caused by the rotation of the earth and appearing as a deflection to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and a deflection to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
- delayed reaction — response after an interval
- delegitimization — The act or process of delegitimizing.
- delta connection — a connection used in a three-phase electrical system in which three elements in series form a triangle, the supply being input and output at the three junctions
- delta conversion — delta reduction
- demilitarisation — The removal of a military force, usually at the end of hostilities or as part of a treaty.
- demilitarization — to deprive of military character; free from militarism.
- demineralisation — Alternative spelling of demineralization.
- demineralization — to remove minerals from; deprive of mineral content.
- demoiselle crane — a gray crane, Anthropoides virgo, of northern Africa, Europe, and Asia, having long, white plumes behind each eye.
- demolition derby — a competition in which contestants drive old cars into each other until there is only one car left running
- demolition squad — a group of demolishers
- demonstrableness — The quality of being demonstrable.
- demutualizations — Plural form of demutualization.
- denaturalization — The act or process of denaturalizing, of changing or destroying the quality (nature) of a thing.
- dendrochronology — the study of the annual rings of trees, used esp to date past events
- denominationally — In a denominational manner; by denomination or sect.
- denuclearization — The act or process of denuclearizing.
- deoxyhaemoglobin — (biochemistry) The form of haemoglobin that has released its oxygen.
- deoxyribonucleic — (genetics) Of or pertaining to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or its derivatives.
- departure lounge — In an airport, the departure lounge is the place where passengers wait before they get onto their plane.
- depoliticization — The act or process of depoliticizing.
- depolymerisation — (chemistry) alternative spelling of depolymerization.
- depolymerization — (chemistry) The decomposition of a polymer into smaller fragments.
- depression glass — cheap glassware mass-produced during the Depression of the 1930s, usually molded in patterns in pale colors, and collectible since the early 1970s
- deradicalization — the practice of encouraging those with extreme and violent religious or political ideologies to adopt more moderate views
- descending colon — the last portion of the colon, beginning at the upper left abdomen in the region of the spleen and continuing downward along the left posterior wall to the sigmoid flexure.
- destabilizations — Plural form of destabilization.
- destroying angel — a white slender very poisonous basidiomycetous toadstool, Amanita virosa, having a pronounced volva, frilled, shaggy stalk, and sickly smell
- deuterocanonical — of or constituting a second or subsequent canon; specif., designating certain Biblical books accepted as canonical in the Roman Catholic Church, but held by Protestants to be apocryphal