15-letter words containing o, p, e, r
- overpessimistic — excessively pessimistic or negative in outlook
- overpreparation — the act or instance of preparing excessively
- overprogramming — the act or instance of programming unnecessary details
- overrepresented — represented disproportionately or in too large a number (corresponding to the number in the population, etc)
- overspeculation — the contemplation or consideration of some subject: to engage in speculation on humanity's ultimate destiny.
- pacific madrone — any of several evergreen trees belonging to the genus Arbutus, of the heath family, especially A. menziesii (Pacific madrone) of western North America, having red, flaky bark and bearing edible reddish berries.
- paedophile ring — a group of people who take part in illegal sexual activity involving children
- painter's colic — Pathology. lead poisoning causing intense intestinal pain.
- palaeoanthropic — relating to palaeoanthropology
- palaeogeography — the study of geographical features of the geological past
- palaeontography — the branch of palaeontology concerned with the description of fossils
- palato-alveolar — articulated with the blade or tip of the tongue approaching or touching the alveolar ridge and the main body of the tongue near the hard palate; having a primary alveolar articulation and a secondary palatal articulation.
- pandorae fretum — an area in the southern hemisphere of Mars.
- panzer division — an armored division of the German army, especially in World War II, consisting chiefly of tanks and organized for making rapid attacks.
- paradise flower — a prickly vine, Solanum wendlandii, of the nightshade family, native to Costa Rica, having branched clusters of showy lilac-blue flowers.
- paraheliotropic — (of leaves) turning away from light; sun-avoiding
- parallel cousin — a cousin who is the child either of one's mother's sister or of one's father's brother.
- parallel motion — a mechanism arranged so as to impart rectilinear motion to a rod connected to a lever that moves through an arc.
- parallelopipeda — plural of parallelopipedon
- parametrization — a parametric representation; the act of representing as or defining parameters
- parent compound — a compound from which derivatives may be obtained.
- parking offence — the act of leaving your car somewhere illegally
- paroemiographer — a person who writes or collects proverbs
- part of fortune — the celestial longitude of the moon plus the celestial longitude of the ascendant minus the celestial longitude of the sun: said to connote an area of life through which one achieves emotional satisfaction.
- parthenogenesis — development of an egg without fertilization.
- parthenogenetic — development of an egg without fertilization.
- parti québécois — (in Canada) a political party in Quebec, formed in 1968 and originally advocating the separation of Quebec from the rest of the country
- passenger coach — a carriage in which passengers sit
- passifloraceous — of, relating to, or belonging to the Passifloraceae, a tropical and subtropical family of climbing plants including the passionflowers: the flowers have five petals and threadlike parts forming a dense mass (corona) around the central disc
- passport holder — a person who has a passport
- passport office — an office which issues passports
- pastel-coloured — pale-coloured; in a shade such as pink or pale blue
- pastoral letter — pastoral (defs 11, 12).
- pastoral prayer — the main prayer in a church service.
- patagonian hare — a burrowing, gray, long-eared and long-legged cavy of the genus Dolichotis, native to South America.
- paternity order — a court order which declares a child's paternity
- patio furniture — furniture in an area adjoining a house, esp one that is paved and used for outdoor activities
- patria potestas — the power vested in the paterfamilias or head of the Roman family with respect to his wife, natural or adopted children, and agnatic descendants: title to family property is vested exclusively in the paterfamilias. Property acquired by a family member becomes family property, and no family member can enter into a transaction in his or her own right.
- pattern bombing — aerial bombing in which bombs are dropped on a target in a predetermined pattern.
- paurometabolous — designating or of a group of insect orders, as orthopterans or hemipterans, in which metamorphosis to the adult state from the juvenile state is gradual and without any sudden, radical change of body form
- pavel petrovich — Paul I (def 2).
- pay as you earn — a method of paying tax in which the tax is taken off your wages before they are paid to you
- peacock feather — a (distinctive and brightly coloured) feather from the peacock
- peak production — the maximum production
- pectoral girdle — (in vertebrates) a bony or cartilaginous arch supporting the forelimbs.
- pectoral muscle — muscle of the chest
- peculiar people — a small sect of faith healers founded in London in 1838, having no ministers or external organization
- pelargonic acid — a colorless, oily, water-immiscible liquid, C 9 H 1 8 O 2 , occurring as an ester in a volatile oil in species of pelargonium: used chiefly in organic synthesis and in the manufacture of lacquers and plastics.
- pellicle mirror — a fixed mirror in a single-lens reflex camera that reflects some of the light entering the lens to the ground-glass view screen while permitting most of the light to pass through to the film.
- penetration aid — a device or tactic, as the use of chaff or decoys or the maintaining of a low flight level, that helps an aircraft or missile to enter hostile air space.