17-letter words containing r, o, s, a, l
- presentationalism — a style of production in which the audience is addressed directly with songs, skits, exposition, etc., and no attempt is made at realism.
- prison population — all the people who are confined in prison
- procurator fiscal — In the Scottish legal system, the procurator fiscal is a public official who puts people on trial.
- production values — the quality of a media production (such as a film) in regards to elements such as colours, quality, style, etc
- professional army — an army of trained soldiers
- professional foul — In football, if a player commits a professional foul, they deliberately do something which is against the rules in order to prevent another player from scoring a goal.
- prolonged-release — A prolonged-release drug delivers a dose of a medication over an extended period of time.
- prostatic utricle — a small pouch near the prostate gland that opens into the urethra.
- protocol analyser — (communications, hardware, networking, testing, tool) Any device that captures and interprets the network traffic between two or more connected computer systems. The traffic can then be decoded so that it is possible to see what processes are occurring. By examining the flow of traffic, protocol analysers can be used to find out where problems (such as bottlenecks or the failure of a network device) are on a LAN. Advanced protocol analysers can also provide statistics on the traffic that can help to identify trends that may in future lead to further problems with the network.
- pseudo-historical — of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events: historical records; historical research.
- pseudo-moralistic — a person who teaches or inculcates morality.
- psychographically — Psychology. a graph indicating the relative strength of the personality traits of an individual.
- psychoprophylaxis — Lamaze method.
- purple of cassius — a purple pigment precipitated as a sol by the interaction of gold chloride and a solution of stannic acid and stannous chloride: used chiefly in the manufacture of ruby glass, ceramic glazes, and enamels.
- purple shore crab — any of numerous crabs that live along the shoreline between the tidemarks, as Hemigrapsus nudus (purple shore crab) of the Pacific coast of North America.
- pyroligneous acid — a yellowish, acidic, water-soluble liquid, containing about 10 percent acetic acid, obtained by the destructive distillation of wood: used for smoking meats.
- pyrosulfuric acid — a strong, crystalline acid, H2S2O7, prepared commercially as a heavy, oily, fuming liquid: used in making explosives and dyes, as a sulfating agent, etc.
- pythagorean scale — the major scale as derived acoustically by Pythagoras from the perfect fifth.
- radioluminescence — luminescence induced by nuclear radiation.
- railroad crossing — place for vehicles to cross train tracks
- rattle one's dags — to hurry up
- recoil escapement — anchor escapement.
- recreationalist's — recreationist.
- recrystallization — to become crystallized again.
- recursion formula — a formula for determining the next term of a sequence from one or more of the preceding terms.
- refuse a proposal — If an insurer refuses a proposal, it does not agree to underwrite a risk proposed by a potential client.
- rehospitalization — the act, process, or state of being hospitalized.
- res ipsa loquitur — the rule that an injury is due to the defendant's negligence when that which caused it was under his or her control or management and the injury would not have happened had proper management been observed.
- revascularization — the restoration of the blood circulation of an organ or area, achieved by unblocking obstructed or disrupted blood vessels or by surgically implanting replacements.
- rhetorical stress — stress required by the meaning of a line, as distinguished from that required by the meter.
- rhode island bent — a European pasture grass, Agrostis tenuis, naturalized in North America, having red flower clusters.
- rio grande do sul — a state in S Brazil. 107,923 sq. mi. (279,520 sq. km). Capital: Pôrto Alegre.
- roman catholicism — the faith, practice, and system of government of the Roman Catholic Church.
- roseate spoonbill — a tropical New World spoonbill, Ajaia ajaja, having rose-colored plumage and a bare head.
- royal institution — a British society founded in 1799 for the dissemination of scientific knowledge
- russell's paradox — a paradox of set theory in which an object is defined in terms of a class of objects that contains the object being defined, resulting in a logical contradiction.
- russian wolfhound — borzoi.
- sacrificial anode — Chemistry. an anode that is attached to a metal object subject to electrolysis and is decomposed instead of the object.
- saint elmo's fire — corona discharge.
- salt of the earth — an individual or group considered as representative of the best or noblest elements of society.
- san pedro channel — a strait between the mainland of SW California and Santa Catalina Island. About 20 miles (32 km) wide.
- sandro botticelli — Sandro [san-droh,, sahn-;; Italian sahn-draw] /ˈsæn droʊ,, ˈsɑn-;; Italian ˈsɑn drɔ/ (Show IPA), (Alessandro di Mariano dei Filipepi) 1444?–1510, Italian painter.
- santa rosa island — an island off the coast of California, in the Santa Barbara (Channel Islands) of California. 17 miles (27 km) long.
- save shoe leather — to avoid wearing out shoes, as by taking a bus rather than walking
- scarlet firethorn — a Eurasian evergreen, thorny shrub, Pyracantha coccinea, of the rose family, having white, hairy flower clusters and bright red berries.
- school playground — school's outdoor recreation area
- scrophulariaceous — belonging to the Scrophulariaceae, the figwort family of plants.
- sea grant college — a college or university doing research on marine resources under the U.S. National Sea Grant College and Program Act of 1966.
- second balkan war — Balkan War (def 2).
- secondary glazing — insulation by means of a second pane of glass, or a sheet of plastic: a simple form of double glazing