16-letter words containing p, u, l, c, o, r
- optical computer — an experimental computer that uses photons rather than electrical impulses to process data a thousand times faster than with conventional integrated circuits.
- orographic cloud — any cloud whose existence and form are largely controlled by the disturbed flow of air over and around mountains, as the banner cloud and crest cloud.
- over-speculation — the contemplation or consideration of some subject: to engage in speculation on humanity's ultimate destiny.
- palmtop computer — a computer that has a small screen and compressed keyboard and is small enough to be held in the hand, often used as a personal organizer
- paratuberculosis — Johne's disease.
- partial function — A function which is not defined for all arguments of its input type. E.g. f(x) = 1/x if x /= 0. The opposite of a total function. In denotational semantics, a partial function f : D -> C may be represented as a total function ft : D' -> lift(C) where D' is a superset of D and ft x = f x if x in D ft x = bottom otherwise where lift(C) = C U bottom. Bottom (LaTeX \perp) denotes "undefined".
- percussion drill — a drill that is operated by percussion
- perforated ulcer — an ulcer that bursts through the stomach wall and leaks food and gastric juices into the abdominal cavity
- person of colour — a person who is not White
- personality cult — deliberately cultivated adulation of a person, esp a political leader
- picture moulding — the edge around a framed picture
- pilot production — sth produced on a trial basis
- pro bono publico — for the public good or welfare.
- 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.
- pseudo-realistic — interested in, concerned with, or based on what is real or practical: a realistic estimate of costs; a realistic planner.
- pseudohistorical — of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events: historical records; historical research.
- public ownership — ownership by the state; nationalization
- public relations — (used with a plural verb) the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc.
- public transport — fare-paying travel
- pure watercolour — water-soluble pigment, applied in transparent washes and without the admixture of white pigment in the lighter tones
- quasi-compulsory — required; mandatory; obligatory: compulsory education.
- reconceptualized — to form into a concept; make a concept of.
- reinsurance pool — the grouping of insurers that provide partial or complete insurance coverage to other insurers for (a risk on which a policy has already been issued)
- reporting clause — A reporting clause is a clause which indicates that you are talking about what someone said or thought. For example, in 'She said that she was hungry', 'She said' is a reporting clause.
- riau archipelago — a group of islands belonging to Indonesia, off the SE coast of the Malay Peninsula, at the entrance to the Strait of Malacca. 36,510 sq. mi. (94,561 sq. km).
- self-exculpatory — intended to excuse oneself from blame or guilt
- self-preoccupied — preoccupied by one's own concerns
- self-pronouncing — having the pronunciation indicated, especially by diacritical marks added on original spellings rather than by phonetic symbols: a self-pronouncing dictionary.
- self-reproducing — to make a copy, representation, duplicate, or close imitation of: to reproduce a picture.
- splanchnopleural — the double layer formed by the association of the lower layer of the lateral plate of mesoderm with the underlying entoderm, which develops into the embryonic viscera.
- sql access group — (body) The origanisaton which defined Call-Level Interface, on which ODBC is based. It is now part of X/Open.
- subtropical high — one of several highs, as the Azores and Pacific highs, that prevail over the oceans at latitudes of about 30 degrees N and S. Also called subtropical anticyclone. Compare high (def 37).
- sulu archipelago — an island group in the SW Philippines, separating the Sulawesi Sea from the Sulu Sea. 1086 sq. mi. (2813 sq. km). Capital: Jolo.
- summer complaint — an acute condition of diarrhea, occurring during the hot summer months chiefly in infants and children, caused by bacterial contamination of food and associated with poor hygiene.
- superciliousness — haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression.
- the first couple — the US president and their spouse
- twofold purchase — a purchase using a double standing block and a double running block so as to give a mechanical advantage of four or five, neglecting friction, depending on whether the hauling is on the standing block or the running block.
- ultramicroscopic — an instrument that uses scattering phenomena to detect the position of objects too small to be seen by an ordinary microscope.
- uncomprehensible — capable of being comprehended or understood; intelligible.
- uncompromisingly — not admitting of compromise or adjustment of differences; making no concessions; inaccessible to flexible bargaining; unyielding: an uncompromising attitude.
- unscrupulousness — not scrupulous; unrestrained by scruples; conscienceless; unprincipled.
- upsilon particle — the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet (Υ, υ).
- ventriculography — radiography of the ventricles of the heart after injection of a contrast medium
- verneuil process — a process for making synthetic rubies, sapphires, spinels, etc., by the fusion at high temperatures of powdered compounds.