17-letter words containing s, a, l
- scentless mayweed — a similar and related plant, Matricaria maritima, with scentless leaves
- school attendance — a measure of the number of children who attend school and the amount of time they are present
- school playground — school's outdoor recreation area
- schwedler's maple — a variety of the Norway maple, Acer platanoides schwedleri, producing red leaves that subsequently turn green.
- scrape the barrel — to be forced to use one's last and weakest resource
- 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.
- sea-island cotton — a long-staple cotton, Gossypium barbadense, raised originally in the Sea Islands and now grown chiefly in the West Indies.
- second balkan war — Balkan War (def 2).
- second lieutenant — an Army, Air Force, or Marine officer of the lowest commissioned rank. Compare ensign (def 4).
- secondary glazing — insulation by means of a second pane of glass, or a sheet of plastic: a simple form of double glazing
- secondary quality — one of the qualities attributed by the mind to an object perceived, such as color, temperature, or taste.
- secondary sealing — Secondary sealing is a system of wiper seals used in floating roof tanks.
- secretary-general — the head or chief administrative officer of a secretariat.
- securities dealer — a person who buys and sells securities
- selective amnesia — the deliberate forgetting of something
- self-acknowledged — widely recognized; generally accepted: an acknowledged authority on Chinese art.
- self-administered — to manage (affairs, a government, etc.); have executive charge of: to administer the law.
- self-aggrandizing — increase of one's own power, wealth, etc., usually aggressively.
- self-annihilation — self-destruction; suicide.
- self-appreciation — gratitude; thankful recognition: They showed their appreciation by giving him a gold watch.
- self-belay device — (in climbing) a device used to pay out a safety rope as required
- self-commendation — the act of commending; recommendation; praise: commendation for a job well done.
- self-condemnation — the act of condemning.
- self-confirmation — the act of confirming.
- self-consecration — the act of setting oneself to a task or vocation without ordination by others or by a religious body.
- self-conservation — the act of conserving; prevention of injury, decay, waste, or loss; preservation: conservation of wildlife; conservation of human rights.
- self-depreciating — self-deprecating.
- self-dissociation — an act or instance of dissociating.
- self-emancipation — the act of emancipating.
- self-entertaining — affording entertainment; amusing; diverting: We spent an entertaining evening at the theater.
- self-estrangement — to turn away in feeling or affection; make unfriendly or hostile; alienate the affections of: Their quarrel estranged the two friends.
- self-flagellation — the act or process of flagellating.
- self-impregnating — to make pregnant; get with child or young.
- self-incompatible — not capable of self-pollination.
- self-perpetuating — continuing oneself in office, rank, etc., beyond the normal limit.
- self-presentation — an act of presenting.
- self-preservation — preservation of oneself from harm or destruction.
- self-purification — a natural process of purifying, as the ability of a body of water to rid itself of pollutants.
- self-renunciation — renunciation of one's own will, interests, etc.
- self-satisfaction — a usually smug satisfaction with oneself, one's achievements, etc.
- self-significance — importance; consequence: the significance of the new treaty.
- selkirk mountains — a mountain range in SW Canada, in SE British Columbia. Highest peak: Mount Sir Sandford, 3533 m (11 590 ft)
- semi-biographical — of or relating to a person's life: He's gathering biographical data for his book on Milton.
- semi-experimental — pertaining to, derived from, or founded on experiment: an experimental science.
- semi-permeability — permeable only to certain small molecules: a semipermeable membrane.
- semi-professional — actively engaged in some field or sport for pay but on a part-time basis: semiprofessional baseball players.
- semimicroanalysis — any analytical method in which the weight of the sample is between 10 and 100 milligrams.
- seminal principle — a potential, latent within an imperfect object, for attaining full development.
- senatus consultum — a decree of the senate of ancient Rome.