12-letter words containing p, r, a, i, s
- apprehensive — Someone who is apprehensive is afraid that something bad may happen.
- apprentisage — Obsolete form of apprenticeage.
- appressorium — a flattened hypha of a parasitic fungus that penetrates the host tissues
- approbations — approval; commendation.
- appropriates — suitable or fitting for a particular purpose, person, occasion, etc.: an appropriate example; an appropriate dress.
- approximates — near or approaching a certain state, condition, goal, or standard.
- apron string — a string for tying an apron on
- archesporial — the primitive cell, or group of cells, that give rise to the cells from which spores are derived.
- archesporium — archespore.
- archipelagos — Plural form of archipelago.
- arctophilist — a collector of teddy bears
- aristophanes — ?448–?380 bc, Greek comic dramatist, who satirized leading contemporary figures such as Socrates and Euripides. Eleven of his plays are extant, including The Clouds, The Frogs, The Birds, and Lysistrata
- aristophanic — 448?–385? b.c, Athenian comic dramatist.
- arsenopyrite — a white or grey metallic mineral consisting of a sulphide of iron and arsenic that forms monoclinic crystals with an orthorhombic shape: an ore of arsenic. Formula: FeAsS
- arsino group — the univalent group H 2 As−.
- arsphenamine — a drug containing arsenic, formerly used in the treatment of syphilis and related infections
- arthroscopic — the use of an arthroscope to diagnose an injury to or disease of a joint or to perform minor surgery on a joint.
- ashurbanipal — died ?626 bc, king of Assyria (?668–?626): son of Esarhaddon. He built the magnificent palace and library at Nineveh
- asking price — The asking price of something is the price which the person selling it says that they want for it, although they may accept less.
- asparaginase — an enzyme used in treating leukaemia
- aspect ratio — the ratio of width to height of the picture on a television or cinema screen
- aspirational — If you describe someone as aspirational, you mean that they have strong hopes of moving to a higher social status.
- aspiringness — the condition of being aspiring
- assessorship — the occupation, post or duties of a person who assesses, advises, or estimates
- assurbanipal — Ashurbanipal
- astrophysics — Astrophysics is the study of the physical and chemical structure of the stars, planets, and other natural objects in space.
- athwartships — from one side to the other of a vessel at right angles to the keel
- atmospherics — Atmospherics are elements in something such as a piece of music or a book which create a certain atmosphere.
- atmospherium — an optical system used to simulate images of atmospheric phenomena, as cloud formations, storms, and day and night, on the inside of a dome.
- attorneyship — The office or profession of an attorney.
- australopith — (archaeology, anthropology, paleonotology) Of or pertaining to the extinct hominid primates, of the genus Australopithecus, from the Pleistocene period.
- automorphism — the practice of seeing others as having the same characteristics as oneself
- b-s particle — a neutral meson with a mass 10,507 times that of the electron and a mean lifetime of approximately 1.6 X 10 -12 seconds.
- bachelorship — the state of being a bachelor; bachelorhood
- bankruptcies — Plural form of bankruptcy.
- baptisteries — Plural form of baptistery.
- barophoresis — the diffusion of suspended particles at a rate dependent on external forces
- base pairing — the hydrogen bonding that occurs between complementary nitrogenous bases in the two polynucleotide chains of a DNA molecule
- base-pairing — the process of binding separate DNA sequences by base pairs.
- basidiocarps — Plural form of basidiocarp.
- basidiospore — one of the spores, usually four in number, produced in a basidium
- beamsplitter — Alternative spelling of beam splitter.
- beauty strip — a narrow forest corridor left uncut alongside a road or body of water.
- bernina alps — a mountain group in SE Switzerland, extending from the Rhateian Alps on the Italian border. Highest peak, Piz Bernina, 13,304 feet (4055 meters).
- bernina pass — a pass in the Alps between SE Switzerland and N Italy, east of Piz Bernina. Height: 2323 m (7622 ft)
- blister pack — a type of packet in which small items are displayed and sold, consisting of a transparent dome of plastic or similar material mounted on a firm backing such as cardboard
- body repairs — repairs to the bodywork of cars
- bright spark — If you say that some bright spark had a particular idea or did something, you mean that their idea or action was clever, or that it seemed clever but was silly in some way.
- brinkmanship — Brinkmanship is a method of behaviour, especially in politics, in which you deliberately get into dangerous situations which could result in disaster but which could also bring success.
- bypass ratio — the ratio of the amount of air that bypasses the combustion chambers of an aircraft gas turbine to that passing through them