12-letter words containing p, o, s, i, t, n
- 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.
- petrogenesis — the branch of petrology dealing with the origin and formation of rocks.
- phenocrystic — relating to a phenocryst
- phonasthenia — difficult or abnormal voice production; vocal weakness.
- phonesthemic — (of a speech sound) shared by a set of echoic or symbolic words, as the sn- of sneer, snarl, snatch, snide, snitch, snoop, etc.
- phonotactics — the patterns in which the phonemes of a language may combine to form sequences.
- photo finish — a finish of a race in which two or more contestants are so close to the finish line that reference to a photograph of the finish is necessary to determine the winner.
- photo-finish — If the end of a race is a photo-finish, two or more of the competitors cross the finishing line so close together that a photograph of the finish has to be examined to decide who has won.
- photofission — nuclear fission induced by the absorption of a high-energy photon.
- photokinesis — movement occurring upon exposure to light.
- photosetting — photocompose.
- 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.
- phrontistery — a place or establishment for thinking, studying, or learning
- phytogenesis — the origin and development of plants.
- pigeon-chest — chicken breast.
- pilot signal — a signal, as a flag or light, used to request a pilot.
- piston skirt — The piston skirt is the cylindrical walls of a piston.
- plainclothes — Plainclothes police officers wear ordinary clothes instead of a police uniform.
- plastination — a technique for embalming bodies by impregnating whole organs with silicon polymers
- plastocyanin — a blue protein found in green plants and in some bacteria
- pneumocystis — any protozoan of the genus Pneumocystis, esp P. carinii, which is a cause of pneumonia in people whose immune defences have been lowered by drugs or a disease
- poetastering — the profession of being a poetaster
- poeticalness — the characteristic of being poetical
- pogson ratio — the brightness ratio of two celestial objects that differ by one magnitude. On the Pogson scale a difference of 5 magnitudes is defined as a difference of 100 in the intensities of two stars; therefore a difference of 1 magnitude is equal to the fifth root of 100, i.e. 2.512
- point source — a source of radiation sufficiently distant compared to its length and width that it can be considered as a point.
- point spread — a betting device, established by oddsmakers and used to attract bettors for uneven competitions, indicating the estimated number of points by which a stronger team can be expected to defeat a weaker team, the point spread being added to the weaker team's actual points in the game and this new figure then compared to the stronger team's points to determine winning bets.
- point system — Printing. a system for grading the sizes of type bodies, leads, etc., that employs the point as a unit of measurement. Compare point (def 48a).
- point-spread — a betting device, established by oddsmakers and used to attract bettors for uneven competitions, indicating the estimated number of points by which a stronger team can be expected to defeat a weaker team, the point spread being added to the weaker team's actual points in the game and this new figure then compared to the stronger team's points to determine winning bets.
- polycentrism — the doctrine that a plurality of independent centers of leadership, power, or ideology may exist within a single political system, especially Communism.
- polyneuritis — inflammation of several nerves at the same time; multiple neuritis.
- polysynaptic — having or involving more than one synapse.
- pontificates — the office or term of office of a pontiff.
- positionally — in terms of position, from a positional point of view
- positive ion — an electrically charged atom or group of atoms formed by the loss or gain of one or more electrons, as a cation (positive ion) which is created by electron loss and is attracted to the cathode in electrolysis, or as an anion (negative ion) which is created by an electron gain and is attracted to the anode. The valence of an ion is equal to the number of electrons lost or gained and is indicated by a plus sign for cations and a minus sign for anions, thus: Na + , Cl−, Ca ++ , S = .
- positiveness — explicitly stated, stipulated, or expressed: a positive acceptance of the agreement.
- post captain — (formerly) a naval officer holding a commission as a captain, as distinct from an officer with the courtesy title of captain
- post-it note — a small square of sticky paper on which notes can be written
- post-looping — post-synchronization.
- post-weaning — to accustom (a child or young animal) to food other than its mother's milk; cause to lose the need to suckle or turn to the mother for food.
- postabortion — Also called voluntary abortion. the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy.
- postaccident — occurring after an accident
- postal union — an international agreement on postal rates and services.
- postcolonial — of or relating to the period following a state of colonialism.
- postdeadline — the time by which something must be finished or submitted; the latest time for finishing something: a five o'clock deadline.
- postdiluvian — existing or occurring after the Biblical Flood.
- postelection — the selection of a person or persons for office by vote.
- poster paint — an opaque, water-based, typically bright-colored paint with a glue-size or gum binder, that is suitable for use on posters and is usually packaged in jars.
- postfeminist — relating to or occurring in the period after the feminist movement of the 1970s.
- posthypnotic — of or relating to the period after hypnosis.
- postillation — the writing or preaching of postils