15-letter words containing s, e, p, i, o
- overspeculation — the contemplation or consideration of some subject: to engage in speculation on humanity's ultimate destiny.
- painter's colic — Pathology. lead poisoning causing intense intestinal pain.
- palaeomagnetism — the study of the fossil magnetism in rocks, used to determine the past configurations of the continents and to investigate the past shape and magnitude of the earth's magnetic field
- palaeomagnetist — a student of or expert in palaeomagnetism
- paleogeophysics — (used with a plural verb) inferred geophysical conditions or processes of designated periods of the geologic past.
- panzer division — an armored division of the German army, especially in World War II, consisting chiefly of tanks and organized for making rapid attacks.
- paphian goddess — Aphrodite, worshiped in Cyprus as the goddess of sexual love.
- paradise flower — a prickly vine, Solanum wendlandii, of the nightshade family, native to Costa Rica, having branched clusters of showy lilac-blue flowers.
- parallel cousin — a cousin who is the child either of one's mother's sister or of one's father's brother.
- parthenogenesis — development of an egg without fertilization.
- parti québécois — (in Canada) a political party in Quebec, formed in 1968 and originally advocating the separation of Quebec from the rest of the country
- passifloraceous — of, relating to, or belonging to the Passifloraceae, a tropical and subtropical family of climbing plants including the passionflowers: the flowers have five petals and threadlike parts forming a dense mass (corona) around the central disc
- passive smoking — the inhaling of cigarette, cigar, and pipe smoke of others, especially by a nonsmoker in an enclosed area.
- passport office — an office which issues passports
- patria potestas — the power vested in the paterfamilias or head of the Roman family with respect to his wife, natural or adopted children, and agnatic descendants: title to family property is vested exclusively in the paterfamilias. Property acquired by a family member becomes family property, and no family member can enter into a transaction in his or her own right.
- peace offensive — an active program, policy, propaganda campaign, etc., by a national government for the purpose of terminating a war or period of hostility, lessening international tensions, or promoting peaceful cooperation with other nations.
- pedagoguishness — the quality of being pedagoguish
- pepin the short — ("Pepin the Short") died a.d. 768, king of the Franks 751–768 (father of Charlemagne).
- percussion lock — a gunlock on a firearm that fires by striking a percussion cap.
- percussion tool — a power driven tool which operates by striking rapid blows: the power may be electricity or compressed air
- perfectionistic — a person who adheres to or believes in perfectionism.
- performing arts — dance, drama, music
- perfunctoriness — performed merely as a routine duty; hasty and superficial: perfunctory courtesy.
- periodic system — a system of classification of the elements based on the periodic law.
- perissosyllabic — (of a line of verse) containing more syllables than expected for the metre being used
- peroxysulphuric — as in peroxysulphuric acid
- personal friend — a person who is a friend, rather than a colleague or acquaintance
- personal injury — injury to an individual
- personalization — to have marked with one's initials, name, or monogram: to personalize stationery.
- personification — the attribution of human nature or character to animals, inanimate objects, or abstract notions, especially as a rhetorical figure.
- peter of amiens — c1050–1115, French monk: preacher of the first Crusade 1095–99.
- petit bourgeois — a person who belongs to the petite bourgeoisie.
- petty bourgeois — petit bourgeois
- phenakistoscope — an early form of a zoetrope in which figures are depicted in different poses around the edge of a disc. When the disc is spun, and the figures observed through the apertures around the edge of the disc, they appear to be moving
- phenomenalistic — the doctrine that phenomena are the only objects of knowledge or the only form of reality.
- phenomenologies — the study of phenomena.
- phenomenologist — the study of phenomena.
- phlebosclerosis — sclerosis, or hardening, of the walls of veins.
- phloem necrosis — a disease of the American elm caused by a mycoplasmalike organism, characterized by yellowing and necrosis of the foliage and yellowish-brown discoloration of the phloem.
- phoenix islands — a group of eight coral islands in the central Pacific: administratively part of Kiribati. Area: 28 sq km (11 sq miles). The islands and surrounding waters form the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, the world's largest marine protected area. Area: 410 500 sq km (158 500 sq miles)
- phosphocreatine — a compound, C 4 H 1 0 O 5 N 3 P, found chiefly in muscle, formed by the enzymatic interaction of an organic phosphate and creatine, the breakdown of which provides energy for muscle contraction.
- phosphorylative — of or relating to phosphorylation
- photo-secession — an association of photographers founded in New York City in 1902 by Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen that advocated the development and public recognition of photography as a fine art.
- photodissociate — to split or break up molecules as a result of the absorption of photons
- photoelasticity — the phenomenon of double refraction of polarized light by a transparent substance under elastic stress, used to measure strain in elastic, transparent materials.
- photomicroscope — a microscope having an illuminator and a camera mechanism for producing a photomicrograph.
- photosensitizer — a drug, food, or other chemical that increases sensitivity to light and other visible photons
- photosynthesize — to produce carbohydrates by photosynthesis: Plants with light green leaves don't photosynthesize as well as those with darker leaves.
- phrasemongering — the act of coining memorable phrases
- physical memory — (memory management) The memory hardware (normally RAM) installed in a computer. The term is only used in contrast to virtual memory.