17-letter words containing p, i
- counter-complaint — an expression of discontent, regret, pain, censure, resentment, or grief; lament; faultfinding: his complaint about poor schools.
- counter-espionage — Counter-espionage is the same as counter-intelligence.
- counterparty risk — the risk that a person who is a party to a contract will default on their obligations under that contract
- counterproductive — Something that is counterproductive achieves the opposite result from the one that you want to achieve.
- courtship display — behaviour that is aimed at attracting a mate
- crampon technique — a climbing style that uses crampons
- creeping elegance — Describes a tendency for parts of a design to become elegant past the point of diminishing return, something which often happens at the expense of the less interesting parts of the design, the schedule, and other things deemed important in the Real World. See also creeping featurism, second-system effect, tense.
- creeping eruption — a skin eruption with intense itching, caused by the burrowing of various larvae under the skin
- criminal contempt — any seriously disrespectful act committed against the dignity or authority of a court.
- critical pressure — the pressure of a gas or the saturated vapour pressure of a substance in its critical state
- cross-pollination — the transfer of pollen from the anthers of one flower to the stigma of another flower by the action of wind, insects, etc
- crown corporation — a corporation owned by the federal or a provincial government
- cryopreservations — the storage of blood or living tissues at extremely cold temperatures, often -196 degrees Celsius.
- cryptic crossword — a crossword where each clue is a word puzzle
- cryptoclimatology — See under microclimatology.
- cryptocrystalline — (of rocks) composed of crystals that can be distinguished individually only by the use of a polarizing microscope
- cryptographically — In a cryptographic manner; using cryptography; for cryptographic purposes.
- cryptosporidiosis — a disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Cryptosporidium, characterized by fever and gastrointestinal symptoms and typically spread via contaminated drinking water.
- culpable homicide — manslaughter
- curie-temperature — the temperature beyond that at which a ferromagnetic substance exhibits paramagnetism.
- cut a poor figure — to appear or behave badly
- cylinder capacity — the cylinder volume that is swept by the pistons of an internal-combustion engine
- cypriot syllabary — a syllabic script in use on Cyprus in the first millennium b.c., used for the writing of Greek and of an unknown language.
- cyrillic alphabet — the alphabet derived from that of the Greeks, supposedly by Saint Cyril, for the writing of Slavonic languages: now used primarily for Russian, Bulgarian, and the Serbian dialect of Serbo-Croat
- cytotrophoblastic — Relating to, or containing, cytotrophoblasts.
- d&o insurance — D&O insurance is a personal liability insurance that provides cover to the directors and senior executives of a company.
- dagestan republic — a constituent republic of S Russia, on the Caspian Sea: annexed from Persia in 1813; rich mineral resources. Capital: Makhachkala. Pop: 2 584 200 (2002). Area: 50 278 sq km (19 416 sq miles)
- damon and pythias — two friends noted for their mutual loyalty. Damon offered himself as a hostage for Pythias, who was to be executed for treason by Dionysius of Syracuse. When Pythias returned to save his friend's life, he was pardoned
- daphnis and chloe — two lovers in pastoral literature, esp in a prose idyll attributed to the Greek writer Longus
- dark-complexioned — (of a person) having a dark complexion
- david copperfield — a novel (1850) by Charles Dickens.
- de-specialization — the act of specializing, or pursuing a particular line of study or work: Medical students with high student loans often feel driven into specialization.
- deceptive cadence — a cadence consisting of a dominant harmony followed by a resolution to a harmony other than the tonic.
- deepwater horizon — an offshore oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, 40 miles (64km) south-east off the coast of Louisiana, that suffered a massive oil spill following an explosion in April 2010
- dehospitalization — hospitalization insurance.
- departmentalizing — Present participle of departmentalize.
- depersonalisation — Alternative spelling of depersonalization.
- depersonalization — the act or an instance of depersonalizing
- dephlogisticating — Present participle of dephlogisticate.
- dephosphorylation — the removal of a phosphate group from an organic compound, as in the changing of ATP to ADP.
- deportation order — a notification that a foreign national is legally required to leave the country
- deprofessionalise — to remove from professional control, influence, manipulation, etc.
- deprofessionalize — to remove from professional control, influence, manipulation, etc.
- desktop publisher — desktop publishing
- despotic monarchy — absolute monarchy.
- developmentalists — an expert in or advocate of developmental psychology.
- dextroamphetamine — a dextrorotatory amphetamine, used to suppress appetite
- dialect geography — linguistic geography
- diaphragm pessary — a device for inserting into the vagina to deliver a drug, such as a contraceptive
- diaphragm shutter — a camera shutter having a group of overlapping blades that open and close at the center when exposing film.