15-letter words containing o, u, t, s, l, e
- coude telescope — a telescope in which light from the primary mirror is reflected along the polar axis to additional mirrors, and in which the focus (coudé focus) is independent of the telescope's motion, permitting the use of heavy instruments without disturbing the delicate balance of the telescope.
- counterbalances — Plural form of counterbalance.
- countercultures — Plural form of counterculture.
- counterexamples — Plural form of counterexample.
- counterfactuals — Plural form of counterfactual.
- counterflashing — (construction) Formed metal or elastomeric sheeting secured on or into a wall, curb, pipe or other surface, to cover and protect the upper edge of a base flashing and its associated fasteners.
- counterproposal — a proposal offered as an alternative to a previous proposal
- couples therapy — a counseling procedure that attempts to improve the adaptation and adjustment of two people who form a conjugal unit.
- crustaceologist — One who studies crustaceology.
- crystal counter — an instrument for detecting and measuring the intensity of high-energy radiation, in which particles collide with a crystal and momentarily increase its conductivity
- crystalliferous — producing or containing crystals
- culture-shocked — a state of bewilderment and distress experienced by an individual who is suddenly exposed to a new, strange, or foreign social and cultural environment.
- curiosity value — value arising from rarity or strangeness rather than intrinsic worth
- customer appeal — attractiveness to customers
- cut your losses — If you cut your losses, you stop doing what you were doing in order to prevent the bad situation that you are in becoming worse.
- cytomegalovirus — a virus of the herpes virus family that may cause serious disease in patients whose immune systems are compromised
- debt counsellor — a person who advises people who are in debt on how to deal with their debt and get out of it
- decasualization — the replacement of casual workers by permanent employees
- decontextualise — Alternative spelling of decontextualize.
- decree absolute — A decree absolute is the final order made by a court in a divorce case which ends a marriage completely.
- deleteriousness — The quality of being deleterious.
- demulsification — to break down (an emulsion) into separate substances incapable of re-forming the emulsion that was broken down.
- desexualization — The act or process of desexualizing.
- dessertspoonful — You can refer to an amount of food resting on a dessertspoon as a dessertspoonful of food.
- desulfurization — The process of removing sulfur from a substance, such as flue gas or crude.
- deuteranomalous — having deuteranomaly; relating to deuteranomaly
- discombobulated — to confuse or disconcert; upset; frustrate: The speaker was completely discombobulated by the hecklers.
- discombobulates — Third-person singular simple present indicative form of discombobulate.
- disillusionment — to free from or deprive of illusion, belief, idealism, etc.; disenchant.
- dose equivalent — a unit that quantifies the biological effectiveness of an absorbed dose of ionizing radiation, obtained by multiplying the absorbed dose by dimensionless factors that account for the kind of radiation, its energy, and the nature of the absorber: measured in Sievert or rem.
- double or quits — twice as large, heavy, strong, etc.; twofold in size, amount, number, extent, etc.: a double portion; a new house double the size of the old one.
- double standard — any code or set of principles containing different provisions for one group of people than for another, especially an unwritten code of sexual behavior permitting men more freedom than women. Compare single standard (def 1).
- double stopping — playing two notes or parts simultaneously on a string instrument
- double-breasted — (of a coat, jacket, etc.) overlapping sufficiently in front to allow for two rows of buttons.
- droste-hulshoff — Annette Elisabeth Freiin von [ah-net-uh ey-lee-zah-bet frahy-in fuh n] /ɑˈnɛt ə eɪˈli zɑˌbɛt ˈfraɪ ɪn fən/ (Show IPA), 1797–1848, German poet.
- duelling pistol — one of a pair of identical pistols made specifically for use in duels
- duplicitousness — The state or condition of being duplicitous.
- edriophthalmous — (of certain crustaceans) having stalkless eyes
- elastic rebound — a theory of earthquakes that envisages gradual deformation of the fault zone without fault slippage until friction is overcome, when the fault suddenly slips to produce the earthquake
- elections judge — someone who oversees an election
- electrosurgical — Relating to electrosurgery.
- eleutherococcus — a shrub, Eleutherococcus senticosus, which is found in Siberia and which is used in herbal medicine. It supposedly increases stamina and boosts the immune system
- ethnolinguistic — Of or pertaining to ethnolinguistics.
- ethnomusicology — The study of the music of different cultures, especially non-Western ones.
- ethyl cellulose — an ethyl ether of cellulose obtained as a white granular solid by treating wood pulp soaked in sodium hydroxide (alkali cellulose) with ethyl chloride: used in adhesives, plastics, insulation, etc.
- eviction clause — a clause by which a contract or other agreement may be terminated, especially between theatrical producers and theater owners in whose agreements it is often stipulated that when weekly receipts fall below a certain minimum usually for two consecutive weeks, the production must vacate the theater.
- fallopian tubes — one of a pair of long, slender ducts in the female abdomen that transport ova from the ovary to the uterus and, in fertilization, transport sperm cells from the uterus to the released ova; the oviduct of higher mammals.
- fallout shelter — protective bunker
- false buckthorn — a spiny shrub or small tree, Bumelia lanuginosa, of the sapodilla family, native to the southern U.S., having gummy, milky sap and white, bell-shaped flowers and yielding a hard, light-brown wood.
- fauntleroy suit — a formal outfit for a boy composed of a hip-length jacket and knee-length pants, often in black velvet, and a wide, lacy collar and cuffs, usually worn with a broad sash at the waist and sometimes a large, loose bow at the neck, popular in the late 19th century.