16-letter words containing p, l, o, y
- personality cult — deliberately cultivated adulation of a person, esp a political leader
- personality test — an instrument, as a questionnaire or series of standardized tasks, used to measure personality characteristics or to discover personality disorders.
- personality type — a cluster of personality traits commonly occurring together
- personnel agency — an agency for placing employable persons in jobs; employment agency.
- phosphoryl group — the trivalent group ≡P≡O.
- photoelectricity — electricity induced by electromagnetic radiation, as in certain processes, as the photoelectric and photovoltaic effects, photoconductivity, and photoionization.
- photoelectrotype — an electrotype made by photographic means.
- photolithography — the technique or art of making photolithographs.
- phylogenetically — the development or evolution of a particular group of organisms.
- physiognomically — the face or countenance, especially when considered as an index to the character: a fierce physiognomy.
- piezoelectricity — electricity, or electric polarity, produced by the piezoelectric effect.
- play a lone hand — to operate without assistance
- play off against — If you play people off against each other, you make them compete or argue, so that you gain some advantage.
- play one's cards — to carry out one's plans; take action (esp in the phrase play one's cards right)
- play-action pass — a pass play designed to deceive the defense by appearing to be a running play, in which the quarterback fakes a hand-off to a back before throwing a forward pass.
- plymouth company — a company, formed in England in 1606 to establish colonies in America and that founded a colony in Maine in 1607.
- policy committee — a group of people who provide ideas or plans that are used by an organization or government as a basis for making decisions
- policy statement — a declaration of the plans and intentions of an organization or government
- political asylum — asylum provided by one nation to refugees, especially political refugees, from another nation.
- political system — a coordinated set of principles, laws, ideas, and procedures relating to a particular form of government, or the form of government itself: Democracy is a political system in which citizens govern themselves.
- polyacrylic acid — a polymer of acrylic acid used as a sizing agent in the manufacture of nylon and other synthetic textiles.
- polycondensation — formation of a polymer by chemical condensation with the elimination of a small molecule, such as water.
- polyhedral angle — a configuration consisting of the lateral faces of a polyhedron around one of its vertices. The portion of a pyramid including one of its points is such a configuration.
- polyphonic prose — prose characterized by the use of poetic devices, as alliteration, assonance, rhyme, etc., and especially by an emphasis on rhythm not strictly metered.
- polyvinyl acetal — any of the class of thermoplastic resins derived by the condensation of an aldehyde with polyvinyl alcohol.
- polyvinyl formal — a colorless, water-insoluble, polyvinyl acetal produced from partially hydrolyzed polyvinyl acetate and formaldehyde, used chiefly in the manufacture of lacquers.
- port phillip bay — a bay in SE Australia: the harbor of Melbourne. 31 miles (50 km) long; 25 miles (40 km) wide.
- portrait gallery — a gallery where pictures are displayed
- post-apocalyptic — of or like an apocalypse; affording a revelation or prophecy.
- postcode lottery — a situation in which the standard of medical care, education, etc, received by the public varies from area to area, depending on the funding policies of various health boards, local authorities, etc
- potential energy — the energy of a body or a system with respect to the position of the body or the arrangement of the particles of the system.
- powerfully built — (of a person, esp a man) big and physically strong, with large muscles
- prerevolutionary — of, pertaining to, characterized by, or of the nature of a revolution, or a sudden, complete, or marked change: a revolutionary junta.
- primary election — primary (def 15a).
- primary electron — in thermionics, any of the electrons falling on a body, distinguished from those emitted by it
- process theology — a form of theology that emphasizes the close relation of human beings, nature, and God.
- programmatically — by using a computer program: You can set the value in each field programmatically with a simple algorithm. The background shapes can be programmatically drawn and animated.
- prophylactically — defending or protecting from disease or infection, as a drug.
- propylene glycol — a colorless, viscous, hygroscopic liquid, C 3 H 8 O, used chiefly as a lubricant, as an antifreeze, as a heat transfer fluid, and as a solvent for fats, oils, waxes, and resins.
- propylthiouracil — a white crystalline compound, C 7 H 1 0 N 2 OS, that interferes with the synthesis of thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland: used in the treatment of hyperthyroidism.
- psychoanalytical — a systematic structure of theories concerning the relation of conscious and unconscious psychological processes.
- psychobiological — the use of biological methods to study normal and abnormal emotional and cognitive processes, as the anatomical basis of memory or neurochemical abnormalities in schizophrenia.
- psychoimmunology — the branch of medicine studying the effects of psychological phenomena on the immune system; the intersection of psychology and immunology.
- psychophysiology — the branch of physiology that deals with the interrelation of mental and physical phenomena.
- psychotechnology — the body of knowledge, theories, and techniques developed for understanding and influencing individual, group, and societal behavior in specified situations.
- ptolemaic system — a system elaborated by Ptolemy and subsequently modified by others, according to which the earth was the fixed center of the universe, with the heavenly bodies moving about it.
- public schoolboy — a boy attending a public school, or a man who attended one
- pulmonary artery — an artery conveying venous blood from the right ventricle of the heart to the lungs.
- pyloric stenosis — an abnormal narrowing of the valve at the outlet from the stomach, preventing normal passage of food into the small intestine.
- pyramidal orchid — a chalk-loving orchid, Anacamptis pyramidalis, bearing a dense cone-shaped spike of purplish-pink flowers with a long curved spur