12-letter words containing s, i, p
- pleiochasium — a flowering system in which several buds come out at the same time
- pleiotropism — the condition of a gene affecting more than one characteristic of the phenotype
- pleomorphism — existence of an organism in two or more distinct forms during the life cycle; polymorphism.
- plug casting — bait casting in which a plug is used as the lure.
- plumbaginous — containing graphite.
- plumbiferous — yielding or containing lead.
- plunge basin — a cavity at the base of a falls or cataract, formed by the action of the falling water.
- pneumocystis — any protozoan of the genus Pneumocystis, esp P. carinii, which is a cause of pneumonia in people whose immune defences have been lowered by drugs or a disease
- pocket-sized — If you describe something as pocket-sized, you approve of it because it is small enough to fit in your pocket.
- podoconiosis — elephantiasis of the lower legs
- poetastering — the profession of being a poetaster
- poeticalness — the characteristic of being poetical
- pogson ratio — the brightness ratio of two celestial objects that differ by one magnitude. On the Pogson scale a difference of 5 magnitudes is defined as a difference of 100 in the intensities of two stars; therefore a difference of 1 magnitude is equal to the fifth root of 100, i.e. 2.512
- point source — a source of radiation sufficiently distant compared to its length and width that it can be considered as a point.
- point spread — a betting device, established by oddsmakers and used to attract bettors for uneven competitions, indicating the estimated number of points by which a stronger team can be expected to defeat a weaker team, the point spread being added to the weaker team's actual points in the game and this new figure then compared to the stronger team's points to determine winning bets.
- point system — Printing. a system for grading the sizes of type bodies, leads, etc., that employs the point as a unit of measurement. Compare point (def 48a).
- point-spread — a betting device, established by oddsmakers and used to attract bettors for uneven competitions, indicating the estimated number of points by which a stronger team can be expected to defeat a weaker team, the point spread being added to the weaker team's actual points in the game and this new figure then compared to the stronger team's points to determine winning bets.
- poison gland — a gland in some fish and amphibians that secretes venomous material
- poison sumac — a shrub or small tree, Rhus vernix (or Toxicodendron vernix), of swampy areas of the eastern U.S., having pinnate leaves and causing severe dermatitis when touched by persons sensitive to it.
- polar lights — the aurora borealis in the Northern Hemisphere or the aurora australis in the Southern Hemisphere.
- polariscopic — relating to a polariscope
- police state — a nation in which the police, especially a secret police, summarily suppresses any social, economic, or political act that conflicts with governmental policy.
- policeperson — a member of a police force.
- policymakers — a person responsible for making policy, especially in government.
- poliorcetics — the science of siegecraft
- polish wheat — a wheat, Triticum polonicum, grown chiefly in S Europe, N Africa, and Turkestan.
- politicaster — an ill-suited or disliked politician
- pollyannaish — an excessively or blindly optimistic person.
- pollyannaism — an excessively or blindly optimistic person.
- polycentrism — the doctrine that a plurality of independent centers of leadership, power, or ideology may exist within a single political system, especially Communism.
- polydisperse — of or noting a sol that contains particles of different sizes.
- polygamistic — a person who practices or favors polygamy.
- polygraphist — an instrument for receiving and recording simultaneously tracings of variations in certain body activities.
- polyhedrosis — an often fatal disease of certain insect larvae or decapod crustaceans, caused by viruses containing DNA.
- polyhistoric — relating to a polyhistor
- polyisoprene — a thermoplastic polymer, (C 5 H 8) n , the major constituent of natural rubber and also obtained synthetically.
- polymorphism — the state or condition of being polymorphous.
- polymyositis — a disorder characterized by the inflammation of multiple muscles
- polyneuritis — inflammation of several nerves at the same time; multiple neuritis.
- polyomavirus — any of a genus (Polyomavirus) of papovaviruses that naturally infect wild and laboratory mice, and that cause tumors when injected into newborn mice
- polyribosome — polysome.
- polysaprobic — flourishing in a body of water having a heavy load of decomposed organic matter and almost no free oxygen
- polysiloxane — a polymer composed of silicon and oxygen atoms
- polystichous — arranged in rows or series.
- polysulphide — any sulphide of a metal containing divalent anions in which there are chains of sulphur atoms, as in the polysulphides of sodium, Na2S2, Na2S3, Na2S4, etc
- polysyllabic — consisting of several, especially four or more, syllables, as a word.
- polysynaptic — having or involving more than one synapse.
- polytheistic — pertaining to, characterized by, or adhering to polytheism, the doctrine that there is more than one god or many gods: Science thrived in the polytheistic culture of ancient Greece.
- pons varolii — pons (def 1).
- pontificates — the office or term of office of a pontiff.