16-letter words containing s, e, m, p, t
- overcompensation — a pronounced striving to neutralize and conceal a strong but unacceptable character trait by substituting for it an opposite trait.
- overcompensatory — a pronounced striving to neutralize and conceal a strong but unacceptable character trait by substituting for it an opposite trait.
- 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
- palmerston north — a city in New Zealand, in the S North Island on the Manawatu River. Pop: 78 100 (2004 est)
- pascal's theorem — the theorem that the lines joining adjacent vertices of a hexagon intersect the same straight line if alternate vertices lie on two intersecting straight lines.
- passive immunity — immunity resulting from the injection of antibodies or sensitized lymphocytes from another organism or, in infants, from the transfer of antibodies through the placenta or from colostrum.
- pectoralis major — the larger of the two large chest muscles that assist in movements of the shoulder and upper arm
- pectoralis minor — the smaller of the two large chest muscles that assist in movements of the shoulder and upper arm
- pension mortgage — an arrangement whereby a person takes out a mortgage and pays the capital repayment instalments into a pension fund and the interest to the mortgagee. The loan is repaid out of the tax-free lump sum proceeds of the pension plan on the borrower's retirement
- pentothal sodium — thiopental sodium
- performance test — a test requiring little or no use of language, the test materials being designed to elicit manual or behavioral responses rather than verbal ones.
- permaculturalist — a system of cultivation intended to maintain permanent agriculture or horticulture by relying on renewable resources and a self-sustaining ecosystem.
- permafrost table — the variable surface constituting the upper limit of permafrost. Compare frostline (def 2).
- phalansterianism — a system by which society would be reorganized into units comprising their own social and industrial elements; Fourierism.
- pharmacogenetics — the branch of pharmacology that examines the relation of genetic factors to variations in response to drugs.
- pharmacokinetics — the branch of pharmacology that studies the fate of pharmacological substances in the body, as their absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination.
- phase modulation — radio transmission in which the carrier wave is modulated by changing its phase to transmit the amplitude and pitch of the signal.
- phlebothrombosis — the presence of a thrombus in a vein.
- photoluminescent — luminescence induced by the absorption of infrared radiation, visible light, or ultraviolet radiation.
- pick up stompies — to come late to a conversation and so misunderstand what is being discussed
- pico de sao tome — an island in the Gulf of Guinea, off the W coast of Gabon, just N of the equator: the larger component of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe. 318 sq. mi. (824 sq. km).
- pincers movement — a military maneuver in which both flanks of an enemy force are attacked with the aim of attaining complete encirclement.
- plainclothes man — a detective or police officer who wears civilian clothes while on duty
- pleasure steamer — a boat powered by steam, used for recreational purposes
- point estimation — the process of determining a single estimated value (point estimate) of a parameter of a given population.
- policy statement — a declaration of the plans and intentions of an organization or government
- political system — a coordinated set of principles, laws, ideas, and procedures relating to a particular form of government, or the form of government itself: Democracy is a political system in which citizens govern themselves.
- portuguese timor — former (1914-75) Portuguese territory in the Malay Archipelago
- post-reformation — the act of reforming; state of being reformed.
- postremogeniture — a system of inheritance under which the estate of a deceased person goes to his youngest son. Also called ultimogeniture. Compare primogeniture (def 2).
- potassium iodide — a white, crystalline, water-soluble powder, KI, having a bitter saline taste: used chiefly in the manufacture of photographic emulsions, as a laboratory reagent, in the preparation of Gram's solution for biological staining, and in medicine as an expectorant and to treat thyroid conditions.
- presumptive heir — heir presumptive.
- presumptuousness — full of, characterized by, or showing presumption or readiness to presume in conduct or thought, as by saying or doing something without right or permission.
- primary meristem — primary tissue derived from an apical meristem.
- progress payment — an instalment of a larger payment made to a contractor for work carried out up to a specified stage of the job
- prometheus bound — a tragedy (c457 b.c.) by Aeschylus.
- proteus syndrome — a condition caused by malfunction in cell growth, in which bone and flesh tissue overgrow in localized areas of the body
- proxime accessit — the person coming next after the winner in a competitive examination or an academic prize giving; runner-up
- ptolemaic system — a system elaborated by Ptolemy and subsequently modified by others, according to which the earth was the fixed center of the universe, with the heavenly bodies moving about it.
- pulse modulation — a type of modulation in which a train of pulses is used as the carrier wave, one or more of its parameters, such as amplitude, being modulated or modified in order to carry information
- punitive damages — law: penalty payment
- put someone wise — having the power of discerning and judging properly as to what is true or right; possessing discernment, judgment, or discretion.
- real-time pascal — (language) A later name for Pascal-80 by RC International, Denmark.
- replacement cost — fee to obtain new version of sth
- residence permit — permission allowing someone to legally reside in a country
- run-time support — run-time system
- self-consumption — the act of consuming, as by use, decay, or destruction.
- self-development — the act or process of developing; growth; progress: child development; economic development.
- self-improvement — improvement of one's mind, character, etc., through one's own efforts.