15-letter words containing s, p, o, t, i
- bacteriophagous — Pertaining to the predation and consumption of bacterium.
- balanoposthitis — An inflammation of the glans penis and the prepuce.
- bandstop filter — A bandstop filter is a filter designed to eliminate all frequencies within a band of frequencies.
- baptism of fire — If someone who has just begun a new job has a baptism of fire, they immediately have to cope with very many severe difficulties and obstacles.
- biopsychologist — a field of psychology that deals with the effects of biological factors on behavior.
- biostratigraphy — the examination of the ages of rock strata by using fossils
- bits per second — (communications, unit) (bps, b/s) The unit in which data rate is measured. For example, a modem's data rate is usually measured in kilobits per second. In 1996, the maximum modem speed for use on the PSTN was 33.6 kbps, rising to 56 kbps in 1997. Note that kilo- (k), mega- (M), etc. in data rates denote powers of 1000, not 1024.
- blasting powder — a form of gunpowder made with sodium nitrate instead of saltpeter, used chiefly for blasting rock, ore, etc.
- boiled potatoes — potatoes, usually peeled, cooked in boiling water
- boustrophedonic — of or relating to lines written in opposite directions
- capitalizations — Plural form of capitalization.
- capitulationism — advocacy or approval of capitulation.
- capitulationist — advocacy or approval of capitulation.
- cardinal points — the four main points of the compass: north, south, east, and west
- cast aspersions — If you cast aspersions on someone or something, you suggest that they are not very good in some way.
- cast-iron plant — any of several plants belonging to the genus Aspidistra, of the lily family, native to eastern Asia, especially A. eliator, having large evergreen leaves often striped with white, and grown as a houseplant.
- castanospermine — a substance obtained from the Australian chestnut or black bean tree
- catastrophising — Present participle of catastrophise.
- catastrophizing — Present participle of catastrophize.
- cell disruption — Cell disruption is when a biological material becomes smaller to release proteins and enzymes.
- chemopsychiatry — the study and application of chemical substances in psychiatry
- chief inspector — an officer of high rank in British police forces
- circumscription — the act of circumscribing or the state of being circumscribed
- claustrophobics — Plural form of claustrophobic.
- cleptoparasites — Plural form of cleptoparasite.
- closed position — (in ballet, modern dance, and jazz dance) any position in which the feet touch each other.
- come up against — If you come up against a problem or difficulty, you are faced with it and have to deal with it.
- committeeperson — a member of a committee.
- communist party — (in non-Communist countries) a political party advocating Communism
- comparativeness — of or relating to comparison.
- comparison test — a comparison of particular qualities or traits in two or more things in order to get a measurable assessment
- compassionately — having or showing compassion: a compassionate person; a compassionate letter.
- compassionating — Present participle of compassionate.
- compatibilities — capable of existing or living together in harmony: the most compatible married couple I know.
- competitiveness — of, pertaining to, involving, or decided by competition: competitive sports; a competitive examination.
- complementaries — forming a complement; completing.
- complementizers — Plural form of complementizer.
- complicatedness — composed of elaborately interconnected parts; complex: complicated apparatus for measuring brain functions.
- complimentaries — of the nature of, conveying, or expressing a compliment, often one that is politely flattering: a complimentary remark.
- composing stick — a metal holder of adjustable width in which a compositor sets a line of type at a time by hand; now rarely used
- composite print — a photograph characterized by overlapping or juxtaposed images resulting from a multiple exposure or the combining of negatives (composite print)
- compositionally — in a compositional manner
- compotationship — the state of being a compotator or drinking companion
- compressibility — the ability to be compressed
- comptrollership — controller (def 1).
- computer ethics — (philosophy) Ethics is the field of study that is concerned with questions of value, that is, judgments about what human behaviour is "good" or "bad". Ethical judgments are no different in the area of computing from those in any other area. Computers raise problems of privacy, ownership, theft, and power, to name but a few. Computer ethics can be grounded in one of four basic world-views: Idealism, Realism, Pragmatism, or Existentialism. Idealists believe that reality is basically ideas and that ethics therefore involves conforming to ideals. Realists believe that reality is basically nature and that ethics therefore involves acting according to what is natural. Pragmatists believe that reality is not fixed but is in process and that ethics therefore is practical (that is, concerned with what will produce socially-desired results). Existentialists believe reality is self-defined and that ethics therefore is individual (that is, concerned only with one's own conscience). Idealism and Realism can be considered ABSOLUTIST worldviews because they are based on something fixed (that is, ideas or nature, respectively). Pragmatism and Existentialism can be considered RELATIVIST worldviews because they are based or something relational (that is, society or the individual, respectively). Thus ethical judgments will vary, depending on the judge's world-view. Some examples: First consider theft. Suppose a university's computer is used for sending an e-mail message to a friend or for conducting a full-blown private business (billing, payroll, inventory, etc.). The absolutist would say that both activities are unethical (while recognising a difference in the amount of wrong being done). A relativist might say that the latter activities were wrong because they tied up too much memory and slowed down the machine, but the e-mail message wasn't wrong because it had no significant effect on operations. Next consider privacy. An instructor uses her account to acquire the cumulative grade point average of a student who is in a class which she instructs. She obtained the password for this restricted information from someone in the Records Office who erroneously thought that she was the student's advisor. The absolutist would probably say that the instructor acted wrongly, since the only person who is entitled to this information is the student and his or her advisor. The relativist would probably ask why the instructor wanted the information. If she replied that she wanted it to be sure that her grading of the student was consistent with the student's overall academic performance record, the relativist might agree that such use was acceptable. Finally, consider power. At a particular university, if a professor wants a computer account, all she or he need do is request one but a student must obtain faculty sponsorship in order to receive an account. An absolutist (because of a proclivity for hierarchical thinking) might not have a problem with this divergence in procedure. A relativist, on the other hand, might question what makes the two situations essentially different (e.g. are faculty assumed to have more need for computers than students? Are students more likely to cause problems than faculty? Is this a hold-over from the days of "in loco parentis"?).
- computer vision — a robot analogue of human vision in which information about the environment is received by one or more video cameras and processed by computer: used in navigation by robots, in the control of automated production lines, etc.
- computerisation — (chiefly, British) alternative spelling of computerization.
- conceptualising — Present participle of conceptualise.
- conceptualistic — Of or pertaining to conceptualism.