19-letter words containing p, v, s
- primitive methodist — a member of a Protestant denomination (Primitive Methodist Church) founded in England in 1812 and later established in the U.S., characterized by its adherence to the basic doctrines, principles, and practices taught by John Wesley.
- private first class — a soldier ranking above a private and below a corporal or specialist fourth class in the U.S. Army, and above a private and below a lance corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps.
- private prosecution — a prosecution started by a private individual rather than by the police
- privatization issue — an issue of shares available for purchase by members of the public when a publicly owned organization is transferred to the private sector
- professional advice — advice given by someone trained in a particular and relevant profession or job
- progressive judaism — Reform Judaism.
- provably unsolvable — The set or property of problems for which no algorithm at all exists. E.g. the Halting Problem. See also provably difficult.
- pseudo-conservative — disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
- pseudo-intransitive — denoting an occurrence of a normally transitive verb in which a direct object is not explicitly stated or forms the subject of the sentence, as in Margaret is cooking or these apples cook well
- psychological novel — a novel that focuses on the complex mental and emotional lives of its characters and explores the various levels of mental activity.
- push comes to shove — matters become serious or reach a critical point where some action or decision is required
- pyorrhea alveolaris — a chronic periodontitis of the gums and tooth sockets, characterized by the formation of pus and, usually, by loosening of the teeth
- pyorrhea-alveolaris — Pathology. a discharge of pus.
- rancho palos verdes — a town in SW California.
- reactive depression — depression occurring in response to some situational stress, as loss of one's job.
- reserved occupation — in time of war, an occupation from which one will not be called up for military service
- sacrifice operative — a euphemistic term for a suicide bomber
- semipalmated plover — a New World plover, Charadrius semipalmatus, having a black ring around the chest and semipalmate feet, inhabiting beaches and salt marshes.
- sensory deprivation — the experimental or natural reduction of environmental stimuli, as by physical isolation or loss of eyesight, often leading to cognitive, perceptual, or behavioral changes, as disorientation, delusions, or panic.
- separation negative — Photography. a black-and-white negative of one of the additive primary colors used to form a color image.
- simple closed curve — a curve that is closed and that has no loops or points missing; a curve for which there exists a homeomorphism mapping it to a circle.
- special air service — a regiment in the British Army specializing in clandestine operations
- speculative fiction — a broad literary genre encompassing any fiction with supernatural, fantastical, or futuristic elements
- speeding conviction — a conviction for breaking the speed limit while driving a vehicle
- stratford-upon-avon — town in S Warwickshire, England, on the Avon: birthplace & burial place of Shakespeare: pop. of county district (called Stratford-on-Avon) 106,000
- subtractive process — a process of color photography in which the colors are formed by combination of cyan, yellow, and magenta lights.
- supernatural virtue — one of the three graces: faith, hope, or charity, infused into the human intellect and will by a special grace of God.
- supreme de volaille — suprême (def 2).
- tamper-evident seal — A tamper-evident seal is a sealing device designed to reveal if the opening of a container has been interfered with.
- the open university — (in Britain) a university founded in 1969 for mature students studying by television and radio lectures, correspondence courses, local counselling, and summer schools
- the provisional ira — the unofficial faction of the IRA that became increasingly dominant following a split in 1969. The Provisional movement remained committed to a policy of terrorism until its ceasefires of the mid-1990s
- to give sb a leg up — to help with climbing
- travelling expenses — expenses that are paid to someone, for example, by their employer, for the costs they need to travel
- universal recipient — a person with blood type AB, able to receive blood from a person of any blood type but able to donate blood only to a person with the same blood type
- university hospital — a hospital that is affiliated with a university. University hospitals provide clinical education and training to future and current doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in addition to delivering medical care to patients
- versa module europa — (hardware) (VME) A flexible open-ended bus system which makes use of the Eurocard standard. VME was introduced in 1981 by Motorola, Philips, Thompson, and Mostek. It was intended to be a flexible environment supporting a variety of computing intensive tasks, and has become a rather popular protocol in the computer industry. It is defined by the IEEE standard 1014-1987.
- vicariate apostolic — a district under the jurisdiction of a vicar apostolic.
- visual basic script — (language) (VBScript) Microsoft's scripting language which is an extension of their Visual Basic language. VBScript can be used with Microsoft Office applications and others. It can also be embedded in web pages but can only be understood by Internet Explorer. Visual Basic is a BASIC variant with object-oriented features. Objects include applications, windows and selections.
- visual display unit — video display terminal. Abbreviation: VDU.