12-letter words containing p, e, s, a
- perforations — the holes punched that allow individual stamps, coupons, etc to be easily separated
- pericarditis — inflammation of the pericardium.
- periostracum — the external, chitinlike covering of the shell of certain mollusks that protects the limy portion from acids.
- periphrastic — circumlocutory; roundabout.
- peristomatic — surrounding a leaf's stoma or stomata
- perivisceral — surrounding or situated about the viscera.
- perpetualism — a belief in the permanence of a given thing; the belief that a given thing (e.g. the world, a political system) will last forever
- perpetualist — someone who holds to any form of perpetualism
- perseverance — steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.
- perseverator — a person who perseverates
- persian gulf — strait in the Indian Ocean
- persian knot — a hand-tied knot, used in rug weaving, in which the ends of yarn looped around a warp thread appear at each of the interstices between adjacent threads and produce a compact and relatively even pile effect.
- persian lamb — the young lamb of the Karakul sheep.
- personalised — to have marked with one's initials, name, or monogram: to personalize stationery.
- personalized — customized
- personalness — of, relating to, or coming as from a particular person; individual; private: a personal opinion.
- perspectival — a technique of depicting volumes and spatial relationships on a flat surface. Compare aerial perspective, linear perspective.
- perspicacity — keenness of mental perception and understanding; discernment; penetration.
- perspiration — a salty, watery fluid secreted by the sweat glands of the skin, especially when very warm as a result of strenuous exertion; sweat.
- perspiratory — of, relating to, or stimulating perspiration.
- persuasively — able, fitted, or intended to persuade: a very persuasive argument.
- pertinacious — holding tenaciously to a purpose, course of action, or opinion; resolute.
- pervicacious — extremely willful; obstinate; stubborn.
- pestilential — producing or tending to produce pestilence.
- pestological — relating to pestology
- pet passport — a document that officially records information related to a specific animal, as part of a scheme that allows animals to travel between member countries without undergoing quarantine
- pet scanning — the action or process of using a PET scanner to obtain an image.
- petaliferous — bearing or having petals.
- petite sirah — a dry red wine produced mainly in California
- petrobrusian — a member of a 12th-century sect in S France that rejected the Mass, infant baptism, prayers for the dead, sacerdotalism, the veneration of the cross, and the building of churches.
- petrodollars — Petrodollars are a unit of money used to calculate how much a country has earned by exporting petroleum or natural gas.
- petrozavodsk — a city in NW Russia, capital of the Karelian Autonomous Republic, on Lake Onega: developed around ironworks established by Peter the Great in 1703; university (1940). Pop: 265 000 (2005 est)
- phagocytoses — phagocytize.
- phalaenopsis — any of various epiphytic orchids of the genus Phalaenopsis, native to tropical Asia, having clusters of showy, variously colored flowers.
- phased array — a radar antenna consisting of an array of dipoles that are excited in or out of phase with each other to control beam direction and radiation pattern without moving the antenna. Compare dipole (def 3).
- phenarsazine — a type of toxin that originates from arsenic
- philadelphus — (Philadelphus) king of Pergamum c159–138 b.c.
- phonasthenia — difficult or abnormal voice production; vocal weakness.
- photo spread — a picture spread. See under spread (def 33).
- photo-stated — a camera for making facsimile copies of documents, drawings, etc., in the form of paper negatives on which the positions of lines, objects, etc., in the originals are maintained.
- photoelastic — displaying photoelasticity; of or relating to photoelasticity
- photorealism — a style of painting flourishing in the 1970s, especially in the U.S., England, and France, and depicting commonplace scenes or ordinary people, with a meticulously detailed realism, flat images, and barely discernible brushwork that suggests and often is based on or incorporates an actual photograph.
- phrasal verb — a combination of verb and one or more adverbial or prepositional particles, as catch on, take off, bring up, or put up with, functioning as a single semantic unit and often having an idiomatic meaning that could not be predicted from the meanings of the individual parts.
- phrase-maker — a person who is skilled in coining well-turned phrases; phraseologist.
- phrasemaking — the making up or coining of memorable phrases or slogans
- phrasemonger — phrasemaker (def 2).
- phraseograph — a phrase for which there is a phraseogram.
- phylacteries — Judaism. either of two small, black, leather cubes containing a piece of parchment inscribed with verses 4–9 of Deut. 6, 13–21 of Deut. 11, and 1–16 of Ex. 13: one is attached with straps to the left arm and the other to the forehead during weekday morning prayers by Orthodox and Conservative Jewish men.
- physicalness — of or relating to the body: physical exercise.
- piano lesson — music class in playing the piano