16-letter words containing s, e, v, i, l
- self-descriptive — having the quality of describing; characterized by description: a descriptive passage in an essay.
- self-destructive — harmful, injurious, or destructive to oneself: His constant arguing with the boss shows he's a self-destructive person.
- self-improvement — improvement of one's mind, character, etc., through one's own efforts.
- self-observation — an act or instance of noticing or perceiving.
- self-sovereignty — the quality or state of being sovereign, or of having supreme power or authority.
- self-vindicating — to clear, as from an accusation, imputation, suspicion, or the like: to vindicate someone's honor.
- self-vindication — the act of vindicating.
- self-vulcanizing — to treat (rubber) with sulfur and heat, thereby imparting strength, greater elasticity, durability, etc.
- service elevator — an elevator for the use of servants and delivery people and for carrying large items.
- service families — families which have a member serving in the armed forces
- sexual deviation — a type of mental disorder characterized by a preference for or obsession with unusual sexual practices, as pedophilia, sadomasochism, or exhibitionism.
- shopping village — a shopping centre that designed to look like a village
- shrinking violet — a shy, modest, or self-effacing person.
- sicilian vespers — a general massacre of the French in Sicily by the local population, begun at the sound of the vesper bell on Easter Monday, 1282.
- silver medallist — a competitor who comes second in a contest or race and is awarded a medal of silver
- silver-lace vine — a hardy, twining, woody plant, Polygonum auberti, of the buckwheat family, native to western China and Tibet, having greenish-white, fragrant flowers in drooping clusters.
- slave-making ant — an ant of a species that raids the colonies of other ant species, carrying off larvae and pupae to be reared as slaves.
- slip one over on — to hoodwink or trick
- slugging average — a measure of the effectiveness of a batter in making base hits, obtained by dividing the total bases reached by hitting by the number of official times at bat and carrying out the result to three decimal places. A batter making 275 total bases in 500 times at bat has a slugging average of .550.
- social evolution — the gradual development of society and social forms, institutions, etc., usually through a series of peaceful stages. Compare revolution (def 2).
- sparking voltage — the minimum voltage required to produce a spark across a given spark gap.
- special delivery — (in the U.S. Postal Service) delivery of mail outside the regularly scheduled hours, by a special messenger, upon the payment of an extra fee.
- splanchnic nerve — Anatomy. any of several nerves to the viscera and blood vessels of the chest and pelvic areas.
- split infinitive — an expression in which there is a word or phrase, especially an adverb or adverbial phrase, between to and its accompanying verb form in an infinitive, as in to readily understand.
- steam locomotive — a locomotive moved by steam power generated in its own boiler: still in commercial use in nations that have not yet converted entirely to diesel and electric locomotives.
- superserviceable — overly disposed to be of service; officious.
- swedish vallhund — a small sturdy dog of a Swedish breed with a long body and pricked pointed ears
- texas revolution — a revolutionary movement, 1832–36, in which U.S. settlers asserted their independence from Mexico and established the republic of Texas.
- the silver ferns — the women's international netball team of New Zealand
- the silver state — the nickname of the US state of Nevada, which comes from the large amount of silver discovered and mined there
- tinnevelly senna — any plant, shrub, or tree belonging to the genus Cassia, of the legume family, having pinnate leaves and large clusters of flowers.
- travel insurance — insurance which covers losses that may be incurred while travelling, such as medical expenses, flight cancellations, lost luggage, etc
- unconversational — of, relating to, or characteristic of conversation: a conversational tone of voice.
- ungava peninsula — a peninsula in NW Ungava region, in N Quebec, in E Canada.
- universalization — to make universal.
- valles marineris — a canyon on Mars, 3100 miles (5000 km) in length, named after the Mariner spacecraft.
- vancouver island — an island of SW Canada, off the SW coast of British Columbia: separated from the Canadian mainland by the Strait of Georgia and Queen Charlotte Sound, and from the US mainland by Juan de Fuca Strait; the largest island off the W coast of North America. Chief town: Victoria. Pop: 706 243 (2001). Area: 32 137 sq km (12 408 sq miles)
- vegetable slicer — a device with a sharp blade for slicing vegetables finely;
- velcro fastening — a fastening made of Velcro
- venereal disease — sexually transmitted disease. Abbreviation: VD.
- verneuil process — a process for making synthetic rubies, sapphires, spinels, etc., by the fusion at high temperatures of powdered compounds.
- verruca vulgaris — the common wart.
- vertical tasting — a tasting of different vintages of one particular wine.
- vestibular nerve — the part of the auditory nerve in the inner ear that carries sensory information related to body equilibrium.
- vestibule school — a school in an industrial establishment where new employees are given specific training in the jobs they are to perform.
- viceregal assent — the formal signing of an act of parliament by a governor general, by which it becomes law
- victimless crime — a legal offense, as prostitution or gambling, to which all participating parties have consented.
- victorian values — qualities considered to characterize the Victorian period, including enterprise and initiative and the importance of the family
- video journalism — the techniques, methods, etc., of preparing and broadcasting informational, social, political, and other nonfiction subjects via news and documentary programs.
- videodisc player — an electronic device for playing videodiscs through a television set.