16-letter words containing p, a, r, i, s
- plaster of paris — calcined gypsum in white, powdery form, used as a base for gypsum plasters, as an additive of lime plasters, and as a material for making fine and ornamental casts: characterized by its ability to set rapidly when mixed with water.
- pleasure-seeking — always looking for pleasure
- plutarch's lives — (Parallel Lives) a collection (a.d. 105–15) by Plutarch of short biographies of the leading political figures of ancient Greece and Rome.
- pocket billiards — pool2 (def 1).
- poitou-charentes — a region of W central France, on the Bay of Biscay: mainly low-lying
- polar opposition — the relation between a pair of antonyms that denote relatively higher and lower degrees of a quality with respect to an explicit or implicit norm rather than absolute values, as the relation between tall and short or light and dark, but not between true and false.
- ponderosa (pine) — a yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa) of W North America, valued for its timber
- poor white trash — white trash.
- pork scratchings — small pieces of crisply cooked pork crackling, eaten cold as an appetizer with drinks
- port authorities — the body with overall responsibility for a port
- portuguese india — a former Portuguese overseas territory on the W coast of India, consisting of the districts of Gôa, Daman, and Diu: annexed by India December 1961. Capital: Gôa.
- posigrade rocket — an auxiliary rocket used to separate the sections of a multistage rocket, fired in the direction of flight.
- post-reformation — the act of reforming; state of being reformed.
- post-renaissance — the activity, spirit, or time of the great revival of art, literature, and learning in Europe beginning in the 14th century and extending to the 17th century, marking the transition from the medieval to the modern world.
- post-romanticism — romantic spirit or tendency.
- practical reason — (in Kantian ethics) reason applied to the problem of action and choice, especially in ethical matters.
- practice session — a period of training that takes place over a set period of time, for example an hour or several hours
- prairie schooner — a type of covered wagon, similar to but smaller than the Conestoga wagon, used by pioneers in crossing the prairies and plains of North America.
- pre-conversation — informal interchange of thoughts, information, etc., by spoken words; oral communication between persons; talk; colloquy.
- pre-registration — the act of registering.
- pre-solicitation — the act of soliciting.
- precinct station — a police station for police responsible for a district of a city
- predispositional — the fact or condition of being predisposed: a predisposition to think optimistically.
- premillennialism — the doctrine or belief that the Second Coming of Christ will precede the millennium.
- prescription pad — a pad of prescriptions used by doctors, etc
- presentation box — a specially designed and attractive box to hold a product, and make it look more impressive
- prespecification — the act of specifying.
- pressure flaking — a method of manufacturing a flint tool by pressing flakes from a stone core with a pointed implement, usually of wood tipped with antler or copper.
- prestidigitation — sleight of hand; legerdemain.
- preunderstanding — to perceive the meaning of; grasp the idea of; comprehend: to understand Spanish; I didn't understand your question.
- pribilof islands — a group of islands in the Bering Sea, off SW Alaska, belonging to the US: the breeding ground of the northern fur seal. Area: about 168 sq km (65 sq miles)
- price comparison — Price comparison is comparing the price of the same product in different outlets.
- price leadership — the setting of the price of a product or service by a dominant firm at a level that competitors can match, in order to avoid a price war
- prima facie case — a case in which the evidence produced is sufficient to enable a decision or verdict to be made unless the evidence is rebutted.
- primary consumer — (in the food chain) an animal that feeds on plants; a herbivore.
- primary industry — an industry, as agriculture, forestry, or fishing, that deals in obtaining natural materials.
- primary meristem — primary tissue derived from an apical meristem.
- primary syphilis — the first stage of syphilis, characterized by the formation of a chancre at the site of infection.
- primrose jasmine — an evergreen shrub, Jasminum mesnyi, of China, having thick, shiny leaflets and yellow flowers with a darker eye.
- prince's feather — a tall, showy plant, Amaranthus hybridus erythrostachys, of the amaranth family, having reddish foliage and thick spikes of small, red flowers.
- prince's-feather — a tall, showy plant, Amaranthus hybridus erythrostachys, of the amaranth family, having reddish foliage and thick spikes of small, red flowers.
- principal clause — the main clause.
- print journalism — journalism as practiced in newspapers and magazines.
- printer's reader — a person employed to read proofs and indicate errors
- prismatic colors — the colors of the visible spectrum produced by passing white light through a prism; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet
- pro-abolitionist — (especially prior to the Civil War) a person who advocated or supported the abolition of slavery in the U.S.
- processing plant — a factory where raw materials are treated or prepared by a special method, esp one where food is treated in order to preserve it
- professionalisms — professional character, spirit, or methods.
- prognostic chart — a chart showing the predicted state of the atmosphere for a given time in the future.
- progressive jazz — an experimental, nonmelodic, and often free-flowing style of modern jazz, especially in the form of highly dissonant, rhythmically complex orchestral arrangements. Compare bop1 , cool jazz, hard bop, modern jazz.