16-letter words containing p, e, r, l, c
- sulu archipelago — an island group in the SW Philippines, separating the Sulawesi Sea from the Sulu Sea. 1086 sq. mi. (2813 sq. km). Capital: Jolo.
- summer complaint — an acute condition of diarrhea, occurring during the hot summer months chiefly in infants and children, caused by bacterial contamination of food and associated with poor hygiene.
- superciliousness — haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression.
- superficialities — being at, on, or near the surface: a superficial wound.
- superserviceable — overly disposed to be of service; officious.
- telespectroscope — a combination of a telescope and a spectroscope, used for spectroscopic analysis of radiation from stars and other celestial bodies
- tent caterpillar — any of the larvae of several moths of the genus Malacosoma, which feed on the leaves of orchard and shade trees and live colonially in a tentlike silken web.
- tephrochronology — a geochronologic technique based on the dating of layers of volcanic ash.
- the first couple — the US president and their spouse
- the public purse — money from or controlled by the government
- the-card-players — a painting (1892) by Paul Cézanne.
- thermoacidophile — any organism, especially a type of archaebacterium, that thrives in strongly acidic environments at high temperatures.
- thermoplasticity — soft and pliable when heated, as some plastics, without any change of the inherent properties.
- topsail schooner — a sailing vessel fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts with square sails above the foresail, and often with a square sail before the foresail.
- transport police — the national police force for railways in Britain, which protects rail operators, staff and passengers
- troop the colors — to parade the colors, or flag, before troops
- tropical cyclone — a cyclone that originates over a tropical ocean area and can develop into the destructive storm known in the U.S. as a hurricane, in the western Pacific region as a typhoon, and elsewhere by other names. Compare extratropical cyclone, hurricane (def 1), willy-willy.
- two-percent milk — Two-percent milk is milk from which some of the cream has been removed.
- twofold purchase — a purchase using a double standing block and a double running block so as to give a mechanical advantage of four or five, neglecting friction, depending on whether the hauling is on the standing block or the running block.
- ultracrepidarian — noting or pertaining to a person who criticizes, judges, or gives advice outside the area of his or her expertise: The play provides a classic, simplistic portrayal of an ultracrepidarian mother-in-law.
- uncomprehensible — capable of being comprehended or understood; intelligible.
- undercapitalized — having insufficient capital for the efficient operation of a commercial enterprise
- underpitch vault — a construction having a central vault intersected by vaults of lower pitch.
- unparticularized — to make particular.
- unpredictability — not predictable; not to be foreseen or foretold: an unpredictable occurrence.
- unscrupulousness — not scrupulous; unrestrained by scruples; conscienceless; unprincipled.
- upsilon particle — the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet (Υ, υ).
- vapor channeling — Vapor channeling exists when vapor flow is distributed in an unequal way in a distillation vessel or stage.
- ventriculography — radiography of the ventricles of the heart after injection of a contrast medium
- verneuil process — a process for making synthetic rubies, sapphires, spinels, etc., by the fusion at high temperatures of powdered compounds.
- videodisc player — an electronic device for playing videodiscs through a television set.
- virtual particle — an elementary particle of transitory existence that does not appear as a free particle in a particular situation but that can transmit a force from one particle to another.
- visible spectrum — the range of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation that is normally visible, from 380 to 760 nm.
- well-appreciated — to be grateful or thankful for: They appreciated his thoughtfulness.
- well-experienced — wise or skillful in a particular field through experience: an experienced teacher.
- whited sepulcher — an evil person who feigns goodness; hypocrite. Matt. 23:27.
- whited sepulchre — hypocrite
- yellow pikeperch — the walleye, Stizostedion vitreum.