16-letter words containing s, u, p, e, n
- personality cult — deliberately cultivated adulation of a person, esp a political leader
- peter stuyvesant — Peter, 1592–1672, Dutch colonial administrator in the Americas: last governor of New Netherlands 1646–64.
- phase modulation — radio transmission in which the carrier wave is modulated by changing its phase to transmit the amplitude and pitch of the signal.
- photoluminescent — luminescence induced by the absorption of infrared radiation, visible light, or ultraviolet radiation.
- pineal apparatus — a median outgrowth of the roof of the diencephalon in vertebrates that in some develops into the pineal eye and in others into the pineal gland.
- pique oneself on — to be proud of
- place in the sun — (often initial capital letter) the star that is the central body of the solar system, around which the planets revolve and from which they receive light and heat: its mean distance from the earth is about 93 million miles (150 million km), its diameter about 864,000 miles (1.4 million km), and its mass about 330,000 times that of the earth; its period of surface rotation is about 26 days at its equator but longer at higher latitudes.
- pleased as punch — the chief male character in a Punch-and-Judy show.
- pleasure-seeking — always looking for pleasure
- pneumonoconiosis — pneumoconiosis.
- poitou-charentes — a region of W central France, on the Bay of Biscay: mainly low-lying
- pop the question — to make a short, quick, explosive sound: The cork popped.
- portuguese india — a former Portuguese overseas territory on the W coast of India, consisting of the districts of Gôa, Daman, and Diu: annexed by India December 1961. Capital: Gôa.
- postremogeniture — a system of inheritance under which the estate of a deceased person goes to his youngest son. Also called ultimogeniture. Compare primogeniture (def 2).
- pre-subscription — a sum of money given or pledged as a contribution, payment, investment, etc.
- pressure flaking — a method of manufacturing a flint tool by pressing flakes from a stone core with a pointed implement, usually of wood tipped with antler or copper.
- pressure welding — the welding together of two objects by holding them together under pressure.
- presumptuousness — full of, characterized by, or showing presumption or readiness to presume in conduct or thought, as by saying or doing something without right or permission.
- preunderstanding — to perceive the meaning of; grasp the idea of; comprehend: to understand Spanish; I didn't understand your question.
- primary consumer — (in the food chain) an animal that feeds on plants; a herbivore.
- principal clause — the main clause.
- process industry — business of treating raw materials
- prometheus bound — a tragedy (c457 b.c.) by Aeschylus.
- prosecution case — the case brought against someone by a legal authority
- proteus syndrome — a condition caused by malfunction in cell growth, in which bone and flesh tissue overgrow in localized areas of the body
- pseudo-dionysius — flourished c4th or 5th century a.d, author of a number of mystical works: identified, during the Middle Ages, with Dionysius the Areopagite.
- pseudo-isidorian — of or relating to the collection of documents of the 9th century a.d. that consist chiefly of the Decretals, attributed to Isidore, archbishop of Seville, a.d. 600–36, and that were rejected as spurious in the 15th century.
- pseudo-scientist — any of various methods, theories, or systems, as astrology, psychokinesis, or clairvoyance, considered as having no scientific basis.
- pseudocopulation — pollination of plants, esp orchids, by male insects while attempting to mate with flowers that resemble the female insect
- pseudoparenchyma — (in certain fungi and red algae) a compact mass of tissue, made up of interwoven hyphae or filaments, that superficially resembles plant tissue.
- pseudoscientific — any of various methods, theories, or systems, as astrology, psychokinesis, or clairvoyance, considered as having no scientific basis.
- public ownership — ownership by the state; nationalization
- public relations — (used with a plural verb) the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc.
- publishing house — a company that publishes books, pamphlets, engravings, or the like: a venerable publishing house in Boston.
- pull the strings — be in control
- pulse modulation — a type of modulation in which a train of pulses is used as the carrier wave, one or more of its parameters, such as amplitude, being modulated or modified in order to carry information
- punitive damages — law: penalty payment
- purchasing agent — a person who buys materials, supplies, equipment, etc., for a company.
- purchasing power — Also called buying power. the ability to purchase goods and services.
- purple sandpiper — a sandpiper, Calidris maritima, of arctic regions of the New and Old World, having in winter a slate-gray back with purplish reflections.
- put in the shade — to appear better than (another); surpass
- put one's oar in — to interfere or interrupt
- put someone wise — having the power of discerning and judging properly as to what is true or right; possessing discernment, judgment, or discretion.
- put the question — to require members of a deliberative assembly to vote on a motion presented
- queen's champion — a hereditary official at British coronations, representing the king (King's Champion) or the queen (Queen's Champion) who is being crowned, and having originally the function of challenging to mortal combat any person disputing the right of the new sovereign to rule.
- reinsurance pool — the grouping of insurers that provide partial or complete insurance coverage to other insurers for (a risk on which a policy has already been issued)
- reporting clause — A reporting clause is a clause which indicates that you are talking about what someone said or thought. For example, in 'She said that she was hungry', 'She said' is a reporting clause.
- repressurization — the process or act of pressurizing.
- run-time support — run-time system
- saint petersburg — Also called Russian Empire. Russian Rossiya. a former empire in E Europe and N and W Asia: overthrown by the Russian Revolution 1917. Capital: St. Petersburg (1703–1917).