16-letter words containing s, m, i, d
- circumstantiated — Simple past tense and past participle of circumstantiate.
- clitoridectomies — Plural form of clitoridectomy.
- closed community — a plant community that does not allow for further colonization, all the available niches being occupied
- coadministration — Joint administration.
- combined honours — (in British education) a degree course that includes more than one subject
- communion sunday — any Sunday on which communion is administered.
- compressed video — video compression
- computer studies — a course of study devoted to using and programming computers
- confederationism — The advocacy of confederation as a means of government.
- consumption weed — groundsel tree.
- cosimo de'medici — Catherine de', Catherine de Médicis.
- costume designer — a person who designs costumes for plays and films
- cross one's mind — to occur to one briefly or suddenly
- curmudgeonliness — The state or condition of being curmudgeonly.
- cyclophosphamide — an alkylating agent used in the treatment of leukaemia and lymphomas
- data compression — the act of compressing.
- database machine — (hardware) A computer or special hardware that stores and retrieves data from a database. It is specially designed for database access and is coupled to the main (front-end) computer(s) by a high-speed channel. This contrasts with a database server, which is a computer in a local area network that holds a database. The database machine is tightly coupled to the main CPU, whereas the database server is loosely coupled via the network.
- dead-smooth file — the smoothest grade of file commonly used
- decision problem — (theory) A problem with a yes/no answer. Determining whether some potential solution to a question is actually a solution or not. E.g. "Is 43669" a prime number?". This is in contrast to a "search problem" which must find a solution from scratch, e.g. "What is the millionth prime number?". See decidability.
- delirium tremens — a severe psychotic condition occurring in some persons with chronic alcoholism, characterized by delirium, tremor, anxiety, and vivid hallucinations
- demilitarisation — The removal of a military force, usually at the end of hostilities or as part of a treaty.
- demineralisation — Alternative spelling of demineralization.
- demoiselle crane — a gray crane, Anthropoides virgo, of northern Africa, Europe, and Asia, having long, white plumes behind each eye.
- demolition squad — a group of demolishers
- demutualizations — Plural form of demutualization.
- departmentalizes — Third-person singular simple present indicative form of departmentalize.
- depolymerisation — (chemistry) alternative spelling of depolymerization.
- destigmatization — The process or act of destigmatizing.
- determinableness — Capability of being determined; determinability.
- developmentalism — An economic theory which states that the best way for Third World countries to develop is through fostering a strong and varied internal market and to impose high tariffs on imported goods.
- developmentalist — an expert in or advocate of developmental psychology.
- devonshire cream — clotted cream.
- dialysis machine — device: kidney treatment
- diamond district — the part of a town where diamond merchants and jewellers have their businesses
- diastereoisomers — Plural form of diastereoisomer.
- digestive system — the system by which ingested food is acted upon by physical and chemical means to provide the body with absorbable nutrients and to excrete waste products; in mammals the system includes the alimentary canal extending from the mouth to the anus, and the hormones and enzymes assisting in digestion.
- dimension lumber — building lumber cut to standard or specified sizes.
- dimethyl sulfate — a colorless or yellow, slightly water-soluble, poisonous liquid, (CH 3) 2 SO 2 , used chiefly in organic synthesis.
- dinosaurs mating — (humour) The activity said to occur when yet another big iron merger or buy-out occurs; reflects a perception by hackers that these signal another stage in the long, slow dying of the mainframe industry. Also described as "elephants mating": lots of noise and action at a high level, with an eventual outcome in the somewhat distant future. In its glory days of the 1960s, it was "IBM and the Seven Dwarves": Burroughs, Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and Univac. Early on, RCA sold out to Univac and GE also sold out, and it was "IBM and the BUNCH" (an acronym for Burroughs, Univac, NCR, Control Data, and Honeywell) for a while. Honeywell was bought out by Bull. Univac in turn merged with Sperry to form Sperry/Univac, which was later merged (although the employees of Sperry called it a hostile takeover) with Burroughs to form Unisys in 1986 (this was when the phrase "dinosaurs mating" was coined). In 1991 AT&T absorbed NCR, only to spit it out again in 1996. Unisys bought Convergent Technologies in 1988 and later others. More such earth-shaking unions of doomed giants seem inevitable.
- diplomatic corps — the entire body of diplomats accredited to and resident at a court or capital.
- direct-mail shot — the posting of unsolicited sales literature to potential customers' homes or business addresses
- discombobulating — Present participle of discombobulate.
- discombobulation — to confuse or disconcert; upset; frustrate: The speaker was completely discombobulated by the hecklers.
- discovery method — a largely unstructured, situational method or philosophy of teaching whereby students are permitted to find solutions to problems on their own or at their own pace, often jointly in group activities, either independent of or under the guidance of a teacher.
- discriminability — The condition of being discriminable.
- discriminatingly — With discrimination.
- discriminatorily — characterized by or showing prejudicial treatment, especially as an indication of bias related to age, color, national origin, religion, sex, etc.: discriminatory practices in housing; a discriminatory tax.
- disembarrassment — Freedom or relief from impediment or perplexity.
- disestablishment — to deprive of the character of being established; cancel; abolish.
- disfranchisement — to deprive (a person) of a right of citizenship, as of the right to vote.