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19-letter words containing s, o, v, e

  • provably unsolvable — The set or property of problems for which no algorithm at all exists. E.g. the Halting Problem. See also provably difficult.
  • pseudo-conservative — disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
  • pseudo-intransitive — denoting an occurrence of a normally transitive verb in which a direct object is not explicitly stated or forms the subject of the sentence, as in Margaret is cooking or these apples cook well
  • psychological novel — a novel that focuses on the complex mental and emotional lives of its characters and explores the various levels of mental activity.
  • push comes to shove — matters become serious or reach a critical point where some action or decision is required
  • pyorrhea alveolaris — a chronic periodontitis of the gums and tooth sockets, characterized by the formation of pus and, usually, by loosening of the teeth
  • pyorrhea-alveolaris — Pathology. a discharge of pus.
  • radius of curvature — the absolute value of the reciprocal of the curvature at a point on a curve.
  • rake over the coals — a black or dark-brown combustible mineral substance consisting of carbonized vegetable matter, used as a fuel. Compare anthracite, bituminous coal, lignite.
  • rancho palos verdes — a town in SW California.
  • reactive depression — depression occurring in response to some situational stress, as loss of one's job.
  • removable hard disk — (storage)   A type of magnetic disk, or possibly magneto-optical disk which is not permanently attached to the disk drive (not a fixed disk) but which can be taken out and replaced, allowing many disks to be used in the same drive. The term "removable disk" would seem to be applicable to floppy disks but is generally reserved for hard disks in suitable cartridges such as those made by Syquest, Iomega and others. Removable disk packs were common on minicomputers such as the PDP-11 in use in the 1970s except that the drives were the size of washing machines and the disk packs as big as car wheels. Removable disks became popular on microcomputers in the 1990s as a cheap way of expanding disk space, transporting large amounts of data between computers and storing backups. Large, cheap fixed hard disks and USB memory sticks have made removable disks less attractive.
  • reserved occupation — in time of war, an occupation from which one will not be called up for military service
  • resistance movement — a movement fighting (for freedom, etc), often secretly or illegally, against an invader in an occupied country or against the country's government, etc
  • restorative justice — a theory and method in criminal justice in which it is arranged that the victim and the community receive restitution from the offender.
  • reversible reaction — a reaction that, depending on ambient conditions, can proceed in either of two directions: the production of the reaction products from the reactants, or the production of the original reactants from the formed reaction products. Compare equilibrium (def 4).
  • ride roughshod over — shod with horseshoes having projecting nails or points.
  • roosevelt corollary — a corollary (1904) to the Monroe Doctrine, asserting that the U.S. might intervene in the affairs of an American republic threatened with seizure or intervention by a European country.
  • sacrifice operative — a euphemistic term for a suicide bomber
  • salvage archaeology — the collection of archaeological data and materials from a site in danger of imminent destruction, as from new construction or flooding.
  • san fernando valley — valley in SW Calif., partly in NW Los Angeles: c. 260 sq mi (673 sq km)
  • saturation coverage — news coverage (of an event, etc) that is very thorough in order not to miss any details
  • save someone's neck — to help someone else escape from such a situation
  • segmentation cavity — blastocoel.
  • selective attention — mental focus on sth in particular
  • self-levelling foot — (on furniture, washing-machines, etc) a foot that adjusts to let the item in question stand in a steady position
  • sell down the river — a natural stream of water of fairly large size flowing in a definite course or channel or series of diverging and converging channels.
  • semipalmated plover — a New World plover, Charadrius semipalmatus, having a black ring around the chest and semipalmate feet, inhabiting beaches and salt marshes.
  • sensitometric curve — characteristic curve.
  • sensory deprivation — the experimental or natural reduction of environmental stimuli, as by physical isolation or loss of eyesight, often leading to cognitive, perceptual, or behavioral changes, as disorientation, delusions, or panic.
  • separation negative — Photography. a black-and-white negative of one of the additive primary colors used to form a color image.
  • seven hills of rome — the hills on which the ancient city of Rome was built: the Palatine, Capitoline, Quirinal, Caelian, Aventine, Esquiline, and Viminal
  • seventh commandment — “Thou shalt not commit adultery”: seventh of the Ten Commandments.
  • shovelnose sturgeon — a small sturgeon, Scaphirhynchus platorhynchus, of the Mississippi River, having a broad, flat snout.
  • simple closed curve — a curve that is closed and that has no loops or points missing; a curve for which there exists a homeomorphism mapping it to a circle.
  • solid of revolution — a three-dimensional figure formed by revolving a plane area about a given axis.
  • soviet central asia — the region of the former Soviet Union now occupied by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan
  • soviet of the union — the legislature of the former Soviet Union and its successor states, consisting of an upper house (Soviet of the Union or Council of the Union) whose delegates are elected on the basis of population, and a lower house (Soviet of Nationalities or Council of Nationalities) whose delegates are elected to represent the various nationalities.
  • speculative fiction — a broad literary genre encompassing any fiction with supernatural, fantastical, or futuristic elements
  • speeding conviction — a conviction for breaking the speed limit while driving a vehicle
  • stanford university — (education)   A University in the city of Palo Alto, California, noted for work in computing, especially artificial intelligence. See SAIL.
  • stanislavski method — method (def 5).
  • stochastic variable — a random variable.
  • subtractive process — a process of color photography in which the colors are formed by combination of cyan, yellow, and magenta lights.
  • supreme de volaille — suprême (def 2).
  • take evasive action — If you take evasive action, you deliberately move away from someone or something in order to avoid meeting them or being hit by them.
  • the open university — (in Britain) a university founded in 1969 for mature students studying by television and radio lectures, correspondence courses, local counselling, and summer schools
  • the provisional ira — the unofficial faction of the IRA that became increasingly dominant following a split in 1969. The Provisional movement remained committed to a policy of terrorism until its ceasefires of the mid-1990s
  • the volunteer state — a nickname for Tennessee
  • the wolverine state — a Midwestern state in the Great Lakes area of the north central US
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