12-letter words containing p, h, l, s
- persulphuric — denoting a type of acid
- phalaenopsis — any of various epiphytic orchids of the genus Phalaenopsis, native to tropical Asia, having clusters of showy, variously colored flowers.
- phantasmical — pertaining to or of the nature of a phantasm; unreal; illusory; spectral: phantasmal creatures of nightmare.
- philadelphus — (Philadelphus) king of Pergamum c159–138 b.c.
- philistinism — (sometimes initial capital letter) a person who is lacking in or hostile or smugly indifferent to cultural values, intellectual pursuits, aesthetic refinement, etc., or is contentedly commonplace in ideas and tastes.
- phillipsburg — a city in NW New Jersey, on the Delaware River.
- phillumenist — a collector of matchbooks and matchboxes.
- philomelides — a king of Lesbos who wrestled and killed every opponent until he himself was defeated by Odysseus.
- philosophies — the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct.
- philosophise — to speculate or theorize, usually in a superficial or imprecise manner.
- philosophism — spurious or deceitful philosophy.
- philosophist — a person who affects philosophical knowledge
- philosophize — to speculate or theorize, usually in a superficial or imprecise manner.
- phlebotomist — a specialist in phlebotomy.
- phosphatidyl — an atom or group of atoms containing one or more unpaired electrons derived from a phosphatide
- phospholipid — any of a group of fatty compounds, as lecithin, composed of phosphoric esters, and occurring in living cells.
- photoanalyst — a person who analyzes and interprets photographs, especially a military specialist in aerial or satellite photography.
- photoelastic — displaying photoelasticity; of or relating to photoelasticity
- photophilous — of or relating to an organism, as a plant, that is receptive to, seeks, or thrives in light.
- 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.
- phragmoplast — the cytoplasmic structure that forms at the equator of the spindle after the chromosomes have divided during the anaphase of plant mitosis, and that initiates cell division.
- 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.
- phrenologist — a psychological theory or analytical method based on the belief that certain mental faculties and character traits are indicated by the configurations of the skull.
- phycologists — the branch of botany dealing with algae.
- 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.
- phylogenesis — the development or evolution of a particular group of organisms.
- physicalness — of or relating to the body: physical exercise.
- physiologies — the branch of biology dealing with the functions and activities of living organisms and their parts, including all physical and chemical processes.
- physiologist — a specialist in physiology.
- pitch chisel — a broad-edged chisel for cutting plane surfaces on stones.
- plainclothes — Plainclothes police officers wear ordinary clothes instead of a police uniform.
- plasma torch — an electrical device for converting a gas into a plasma, used for melting metal
- plasmasphere — a region of cool plasma surrounding the earth, extending 8000–25,000 miles (13,000–40,000 km) into space, and bounded by the plasmapause.
- plattdeutsch — the Low German vernacular dialects spoken in northern Germany.
- play clothes — clothes that are suitable for playing in
- pleased with — satisfied or content with
- pleiochasium — a flowering system in which several buds come out at the same time
- pleomorphism — existence of an organism in two or more distinct forms during the life cycle; polymorphism.
- pleomorphous — characterized by pleomorphism
- plough horse — a horse used for pulling a plough
- polar lights — the aurora borealis in the Northern Hemisphere or the aurora australis in the Southern Hemisphere.
- polish wheat — a wheat, Triticum polonicum, grown chiefly in S Europe, N Africa, and Turkestan.
- pollen brush — the mass of stiff hairs on the legs or abdomen of an insect, for collecting pollen.
- pollyannaish — an excessively or blindly optimistic person.
- polychaetous — of or relating to the genus Polychaeta
- polygraphist — an instrument for receiving and recording simultaneously tracings of variations in certain body activities.
- polyhedrosis — an often fatal disease of certain insect larvae or decapod crustaceans, caused by viruses containing DNA.
- polyhistoric — relating to a polyhistor
- polymorphism — the state or condition of being polymorphous.
- polymorphous — having, assuming, or passing through many or various forms, stages, or the like.