16-letter words containing o, s, e, l
- de broglie waves — the set of waves that represent the behaviour of an elementary particle, or some atoms and molecules, under certain conditions. The de Broglie wavelength, λ, is given by λ = h/mv, where h is the Planck constant, m the mass, and v the velocity of the particle
- 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-stalinization — the elimination of the influence of Stalin
- dead sea scrolls — a collection of manuscripts in Hebrew and Aramaic discovered in caves near the Dead Sea between 1947 and 1956. They are widely held to have been written between about 100 bc and 68 ad and provide important biblical evidence
- dead-man's float — a prone floating position, used especially by beginning swimmers, with face downward, legs extended backward, and arms stretched forward.
- dead-smooth file — the smoothest grade of file commonly used
- decentralisation — Alternative spelling of decentralization.
- 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.
- 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.
- delta conversion — delta reduction
- demilitarisation — The removal of a military force, usually at the end of hostilities or as part of a treaty.
- demineralisation — Alternative spelling of demineralization.
- demoiselle crane — a gray crane, Anthropoides virgo, of northern Africa, Europe, and Asia, having long, white plumes behind each eye.
- demolition squad — a group of demolishers
- demonstrableness — The quality of being demonstrable.
- demutualizations — Plural form of demutualization.
- dephlogisticated — Simple past tense and past participle of dephlogisticate.
- depolymerisation — (chemistry) alternative spelling of depolymerization.
- 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
- depth psychology — the study of unconscious motives and attitudes
- 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
- developmentalism — An economic theory which states that the best way for Third World countries to develop is through fostering a strong and varied internal market and to impose high tariffs on imported goods.
- developmentalist — an expert in or advocate of developmental psychology.
- devil's advocate — If you play devil's advocate in a discussion or debate, you express an opinion which you may not agree with but which is very different to what other people have been saying, in order to make the argument more interesting.
- devonshire split — a kind of yeast bun split open and served with whipped cream or butter and jam
- diagonal process — a form of argument in which a new member of a set is constructed from a list of its known members by making the nth term of the new member differ from the nth term of the nth member. The new member is thus different from every member of the list
- dimension lumber — building lumber cut to standard or specified sizes.
- diphosphorylated — (biochemistry) phosphorylated with two units of phosphoric acid.
- direct-mail shot — the posting of unsolicited sales literature to potential customers' homes or business addresses
- disclosing agent — a vegetable dye, administered as a liquid or in tablet form (disclosing tablet), that stains plaque, making it readily apparent on the teeth
- disconsolateness — (uncountable) The state of being disconsolate; gloom.
- disequilibration — to put out of equilibrium; unbalance: A period of high inflation could disequilibrate the monetary system.
- dishonorableness — The property of being dishonorable.
- disorderly house — a house of prostitution; brothel.
- dispersal prison — a prison organized and equipped to accommodate a proportion of the most dangerous and highest security risk prisoners
- displaced person — a person driven or expelled from his or her homeland by war, famine, tyranny, etc. Abbreviation: DP, D.P.
- displacement ton — a unit for measuring the displacement of a vessel, equal to a long ton of 2240 pounds (1016 kg) or 35 cu. ft. (1 cu. m) of seawater.
- disposable goods — consumer goods that are used up a short time after purchase, including perishables, newspapers, clothes, etc
- distance modulus — a measure of the distance, r, of a celestial object too far away to show measurable parallax. It is given by m–M = 5 log(r/10), where m is its apparent magnitude (corrected for interstellar absorption) and M is its absolute magnitude
- distrito federal — Federal District. Abbreviation: D.F.
- division algebra — a linear algebra in which each element of the vector space has a multiplicative inverse.
- do oneself proud — to do extremely well
- do-it-yourselfer — an advocate or enthusiast of do-it-yourself
- dolichocephalism — (medicine) The quality or condition of being dolichocephalic.
- domain selection — (systems analysis) The prioritisation and selection of one or more domains for which specific software reuse engineering projects are to be initiated.
- domestic prelate — an honorary distinction conferred by the Holy See upon clergy, entitling them to some of the privileges of a bishop.
- dorr's rebellion — an insurrection in Rhode Island (1842) that grew out of dissatisfaction with the existing state constitution, which restricted suffrage to landholders or their eldest sons.