16-letter words containing s, a, u, r
- orthodoxy sunday — a solemn festival held on the first Sunday of Lent (Orthodoxy Sunday) commemorating the restoration of the use of icons in the church (a.d. 842) and the triumph over all heresies.
- out on one's ear — dismissed unceremoniously
- outsmart oneself — to have one's efforts at cunning or cleverness result in one's own disadvantage
- over-speculation — the contemplation or consideration of some subject: to engage in speculation on humanity's ultimate destiny.
- overcautiousness — the quality or state of being too cautious, wary, or careful
- overenthusiastic — full of or characterized by enthusiasm; ardent: He seems very enthusiastic about his role in the play.
- pacific sturgeon — a dark gray sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, inhabiting marine and fresh waters along the northwestern coast of North America, valued as a food and sport fish.
- padded shoulders — (on a garment) shoulders lined, stuffed, or filled out with soft material, esp in order to give them a higher or wider shape
- paediatric nurse — a nurse who specializes in the care of children
- paint-by-numbers — formulaic; showing no original thought or creativity
- pairs tournament — an event in a sport such as tennis or darts open to pairs of competitors
- palmer peninsula — former name of Antarctic Peninsula.
- papillary muscle — one of the small bundles of muscles attached to the ventricle walls and to the chordae tendineae that tighten these tendons during ventricular contraction.
- parasol mushroom — a common edible field mushroom, Macrolepiota (Lepiota) procera, having a light-brown, scaly cap.
- paratuberculosis — Johne's disease.
- parkerhouse roll — a yeast roll shaped by folding over a flat, round piece of buttered dough
- partial pressure — the pressure that a gas in a mixture of gases would exert if it occupied the same volume as the mixture at the same temperature.
- paterson's curse — a purple-flowered noxious plant, Echium plantagineum, a close relative of viper's bugloss, naturalized in Australia and NZ where its harmfulness to livestock has prompted attempts to limit its spread
- pay-as-you-throw — denoting a system for waste collection in which households are charged according to the amount of refuse they leave
- peninsular state — Florida (used as a nickname).
- permaculturalist — a system of cultivation intended to maintain permanent agriculture or horticulture by relying on renewable resources and a self-sustaining ecosystem.
- personal pronoun — any one of the pronouns used to refer to the speaker, or to one or more to or about whom or which he or she is speaking, as, in English, I, we, you, he, she, it, they.
- personal tuition — private tuition
- personality cult — deliberately cultivated adulation of a person, esp a political leader
- persulfuric acid — Also called Caro's acid, permonosulfuric acid, peroxymonosulfuric acid, peroxysulfuric acid. a white, crystalline solid, H 2 SO 5 , used as an oxidizing agent for certain organic compounds.
- peter stuyvesant — Peter, 1592–1672, Dutch colonial administrator in the Americas: last governor of New Netherlands 1646–64.
- phosphor fatigue — screen saver
- phosphorous acid — a colorless, crystalline, water-soluble acid of phosphorus, H 3 PO 3 , from which phosphites are derived.
- phrase structure — the hierarchical arrangement of the constituent words and phrases of a sentence.
- picture postcard — postcard (def 1).
- pineal apparatus — a median outgrowth of the roof of the diencephalon in vertebrates that in some develops into the pineal eye and in others into the pineal gland.
- piscis austrinus — a small constellation in the S hemisphere lying between Aquarius and Grus and containing the first-magnitude star Fomalhaut
- pleasure steamer — a boat powered by steam, used for recreational purposes
- pleasure-seeking — always looking for pleasure
- plutarch's lives — (Parallel Lives) a collection (a.d. 105–15) by Plutarch of short biographies of the leading political figures of ancient Greece and Rome.
- poitou-charentes — a region of W central France, on the Bay of Biscay: mainly low-lying
- port authorities — the body with overall responsibility for a port
- portuguese india — a former Portuguese overseas territory on the W coast of India, consisting of the districts of Gôa, Daman, and Diu: annexed by India December 1961. Capital: Gôa.
- pressure flaking — a method of manufacturing a flint tool by pressing flakes from a stone core with a pointed implement, usually of wood tipped with antler or copper.
- pressure-treated — (of wood) treated with a chemical or chemicals applied under pressure to reduce such problems as insect infestation, decay, and rotting.
- preunderstanding — to perceive the meaning of; grasp the idea of; comprehend: to understand Spanish; I didn't understand your question.
- primary consumer — (in the food chain) an animal that feeds on plants; a herbivore.
- primary industry — an industry, as agriculture, forestry, or fishing, that deals in obtaining natural materials.
- principal clause — the main clause.
- print journalism — journalism as practiced in newspapers and magazines.
- prosecution case — the case brought against someone by a legal authority
- pseudo-isidorian — of or relating to the collection of documents of the 9th century a.d. that consist chiefly of the Decretals, attributed to Isidore, archbishop of Seville, a.d. 600–36, and that were rejected as spurious in the 15th century.
- pseudo-patriotic — of, like, suitable for, or characteristic of a patriot.
- pseudo-realistic — interested in, concerned with, or based on what is real or practical: a realistic estimate of costs; a realistic planner.
- pseudo-spiritual — of, relating to, or consisting of spirit; incorporeal.