17-letter words containing s, t, e, r, i, l
- mercantile system — a system of political and economic policy, evolving with the modern national state and seeking to secure a nation's political and economic supremacy in its rivalry with other states. According to this system, money was regarded as a store of wealth, and the goal of a state was the accumulation of precious metals, by exporting the largest possible quantity of its products and importing as little as possible, thus establishing a favorable balance of trade.
- messier catalogue — a catalogue of 103 nonstellar objects, such as nebulae and galaxies, prepared in 1781–86. An object is referred to by its number in this catalogue, for example the Andromeda Galaxy is referred to as M31
- metalloproteinase — (enzyme) Any of several proteinases that have a metal atom (often zinc) at their active centre.
- microencapsulated — Encapsulated using microencapsulation.
- midterm elections — elections held halfway through the term of office of a president during which governors, etc, but not a president, are elected
- ministering angel — a spirit who is believed to look after the needs of a particular person or group
- miss lonelyhearts — a novel (1933) by Nathanael West.
- misunderstandable — Capable of being misunderstood.
- multiline insurer — an insurance company that is engaged in more than two fields of insurance.
- multimillionaires — Plural form of multimillionaire.
- multiple exposure — the filming of more than one scene in a single frame
- multiple neuritis — polyneuritis.
- musical interlude — an interval in a play, event or occasion during which music is played
- naked singularity — an infinitely dense point mass without a surrounding black hole
- national seashore — an area of seacoast set aside and maintained by the U.S. government for purposes of recreation or wildlife study.
- national security — defence of a country
- natural selection — the process by which forms of life having traits that better enable them to adapt to specific environmental pressures, as predators, changes in climate, or competition for food or mates, will tend to survive and reproduce in greater numbers than others of their kind, thus ensuring the perpetuation of those favorable traits in succeeding generations.
- neurophysiologist — the branch of physiology dealing with the functions of the nervous system.
- neuropsychologist — A neurologist or psychologist whose speciality is neuropsychology.
- non-controversial — of, relating to, or characteristic of controversy, or prolonged public dispute, debate, or contention; polemical: a controversial book.
- non-materialistic — excessively concerned with physical comforts or the acquisition of wealth and material possessions, rather than with spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values.
- non-stereotypical — a process, now often replaced by more advanced methods, for making metal printing plates by taking a mold of composed type or the like in papier-mâché or other material and then taking from this mold a cast in type metal.
- non-thermoplastic — soft and pliable when heated, as some plastics, without any change of the inherent properties.
- north lanarkshire — a council area of central Scotland: consists mainly of the NE part of the historical county of Lanarkshire; formerly (1974–96) part of Strathclyde Region: engineering and metalworking industries. Administrative centre: Motherwell. Pop: 321 820 (2003 est). Area: 1771 sq km (684 sq miles)
- nuclear chemistry — the branch of chemistry concerned with nuclear reactions
- nuclear scientist — a scientist who studies nuclear physics
- omphalomesenteric — (anatomy) Of or pertaining to the umbilicus and mesentery.
- on cruise control — If you say that someone is on cruise control in a contest, you mean that they are winning the contest easily and without needing to make a lot of effort.
- operation sealion — the codename for Hitler's proposed invasion (1940) of Great Britain
- optical isomerism — stereoisomerism in which the isomers are identical in molecular weight and most chemical and physical properties but differ in their effect on the rotation of polarized light.
- osculating circle — circle of curvature.
- paleobiochemistry — the study of biochemical processes that occurred in fossil life forms.
- paleoconservative — a person advocating an older, traditional type of conservatism, especially in politics.
- partially sighted — unable to see properly so that even with corrective aids normal activities are prevented or seriously hindered
- particle kinetics — Particle kinetics is the study of the movement of particles and the forces that cause this movement.
- parts per million — the number of units (of a substance) present in a million units of another substance
- pascal's triangle — a triangular arrangement of the binomial coefficients of the expansion (x + y) n for positive integral values of n.
- past life therapy — a form of hypnosis or meditation based on the belief that an individual's present problems are rooted in events that occurred before birth in this life
- paternalistically — the system, principle, or practice of managing or governing individuals, businesses, nations, etc., in the manner of a father dealing benevolently and often intrusively with his children: The employees objected to the paternalism of the old president.
- percussion bullet — a bullet that is exploded by percussion
- perpetual spinach — a variety of spinach that keeps producing edible leaves
- personal distance — personal space.
- personal equation — the tendency to personal bias that accounts for variation in interpretation or approach and for which allowance must be made.
- personality clash — friction between two people who have different personalities or points of view
- pillar-and-breast — room-and-pillar.
- plumbing fixtures — things such as pipes, sinks, toilets that are fixed in position in a building
- point reyes lilac — a prostrate shrub, Ceanothus gloriosus, of southern California, having leathery, roundish leaves and purplish or deep-blue flowers.
- pointer swizzling — swizzle
- poison-pen letter — A poison-pen letter is an unpleasant unsigned letter which is sent in order to upset someone or to cause trouble.
- polar coordinates — Usually, polar coordinates. one of two coordinates used to locate a point in a plane by the length of its radius vector and the angle this vector makes with the polar axis (polar angle)