15-letter words containing p, o, s, l
- coude telescope — a telescope in which light from the primary mirror is reflected along the polar axis to additional mirrors, and in which the focus (coudé focus) is independent of the telescope's motion, permitting the use of heavy instruments without disturbing the delicate balance of the telescope.
- counterexamples — Plural form of counterexample.
- counterproposal — a proposal offered as an alternative to a previous proposal
- couples therapy — a counseling procedure that attempts to improve the adaptation and adjustment of two people who form a conjugal unit.
- cowper's glands — two small yellowish glands near the prostate that secrete a mucous substance into the urethra during sexual stimulation in males
- cross-pollinate — to subject or be subjected to cross-pollination
- crossing patrol — a person who holds up the traffic so that school children can cross the road safely
- cryptozoologist — an expert in cryptozoology
- crystallography — the science concerned with the formation, properties, and structure of crystals
- cushion capital — a capital, used in Byzantine, Romanesque, and Norman architecture, in the form of a bowl with a square top
- customer appeal — attractiveness to customers
- cytoplasmically — by means of a cytoplasm
- cytotrophoblast — the thickened, inner part of the mammalian placenta nearest to the fetus, covering the chorion during early pregnancy
- decomposability — (uncountable) The condition of being decomposable.
- decompositional — Of or pertaining to decomposition.
- depersonalizing — Present participle of depersonalize.
- dephlogisticate — to reduce or remove inflammation from
- dephosphorylate — to remove a phosphate group from (an organic compound)
- dermatoglyphics — the lines forming a skin pattern, esp on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet
- descriptionless — Without a description.
- dessertspoonful — You can refer to an amount of food resting on a dessertspoon as a dessertspoonful of food.
- diaheliotropism — the tendency among plants to respond to the light of the sun by orienting their leaves perpendicular to the sun's rays, such that the upper surface of the leaves receives maximum light
- diastrophically — in a diastrophic fashion
- disappointingly — failing to fulfill one's hopes or expectations: a disappointing movie; a disappointing marriage.
- dispassionately — free from or unaffected by passion; devoid of personal feeling or bias; impartial; calm: a dispassionate critic.
- dispositionally — In a dispositional manner.
- disproportional — not in proportion; disproportionate.
- dolphin striker — a short vertical strut between the bowsprit and a rope or cable (martingale) from the end of the jib boom to the stem or bows, used for maintaining tension and preventing upward movement of the jib boom
- double exposure — the act of exposing the same film, frame, plate, etc., twice.
- double saucepan — a cooking utensil consisting of two saucepans, one fitting inside the other. The bottom saucepan contains water that, while boiling, gently heats food in the upper pan
- double stopping — playing two notes or parts simultaneously on a string instrument
- draw oneself up — to assume a straighter posture; stand or sit straight
- drop handlebars — aerodynamic handlebars that drop down and curve towards the rider at the ends rather than turning upwards as on conventional bicycles
- duelling pistol — one of a pair of identical pistols made specifically for use in duels
- duplicitousness — The state or condition of being duplicitous.
- eclipse scotoma — a blind spot; a permanent or temporary area of depressed or absent vision caused by viewing the sun directly
- edriophthalmous — (of certain crustaceans) having stalkless eyes
- electrodeposits — Third-person singular simple present indicative form of electrodeposit.
- electron optics — the study and use of beams of electrons and of their deflection and focusing by electric and magnetic fields
- electrophoreses — Plural form of electrophoresis.
- electrophoresis — The movement of charged particles in a fluid or gel under the influence of an electric field.
- electropositive — Electrically positive.
- elephant's-foot — a monocotyledonous plant, Testudinaria elephantipes, of southern Africa, with a very large starchy tuberous stem, covered in corky scales: family Dioscoreaceae
- ellipsis points — the characters (… or formerly ***) forming a punctuation mark indicating an intentional omission of words or letters or an abrupt change of thought, lapse of time, incomplete statement, etc.
- english sparrow — a small Eurasian weaverbird, Passer domesticus, now established in North America and Australia. It has a brown streaked plumage with grey underparts
- epidemiologists — Plural form of epidemiologist.
- epistemological — Of or pertaining to epistemology or theory of knowledge, as a field of study.
- epsilon squared — (jargon) A quantity even smaller than epsilon, as small in comparison to epsilon as epsilon is to something normal; completely negligible. If you buy a supercomputer for a million dollars, the cost of the thousand-dollar terminal to go with it is epsilon, and the cost of the ten-dollar cable to connect them is epsilon squared. Compare lost in the underflow, lost in the noise.
- escape velocity — great enough speed to escape gravity
- ethnopsychology — The scientific study of psychological concepts as they exist across different ethnic groups.