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15-letter words containing s, u, p, r

  • pure land sects — Mahayana Buddhist sects venerating the Buddha as the compassionate saviour
  • purposelessness — having no purpose or apparent meaning.
  • purslane family — the plant family Portulacaceae, characterized by chiefly herbaceous plants having simple, often fleshy leaves, sometimes showy flowers, and capsular fruit, and including bitterroot, purslane, red maids, rose moss, and spring beauty.
  • put years on sb — If you say that something such as an experience or a way of dressing has put years on someone, you mean that it has made them look or feel much older.
  • quasi-permanent — existing perpetually; everlasting, especially without significant change.
  • quasi-spherical — having the form of a sphere; globular.
  • queen's pattern — a pattern of ceramic decoration consisting of bands of swirling radial lines, white on blue alternating with red on white.
  • queen's proctor — a British judiciary officer who may intervene in probate, nullity, or divorce actions when collusion, suppression of evidence, or other irregularities are alleged.
  • query expansion — (information science)   Adding search terms to a user's search. Query expansion is the process of a search engine adding search terms to a user's weighted search. The intent is to improve precision and/or recall. The additional terms may be taken from a thesaurus. For example a search for "car" may be expanded to: car cars auto autos automobile automobiles. The additional terms may also be taken from documents that the user has specified as being relevant; this is the basis for the "more like this" feature of some search engines. The extra terms can have positive or negative weights.
  • question period — a period of time set aside each day for members of parliament to question government ministers
  • radiophosphorus — phosphorus 32.
  • refuelling stop — a stop made so that fresh fuel can be supplied (to an aircraft, vehicle, etc)
  • refuse disposal — the act of disposing of rubbish and waste
  • relief supplies — food, water, medication, clothes, etc given to people in need, esp in disaster areas
  • renal corpuscle — Malpighian body (sense 2)
  • reported clause — A reported clause is a subordinate clause that indicates what someone said or thought. For example, in 'She said that she was hungry', 'she was hungry' is a reported clause.
  • rhesus positive — relating to blood containing Rhesus antigen D
  • rumpelstiltskin — a dwarf in a German folktale who spins flax into gold for a young woman to meet the demands of the prince she has married, on the condition that she give him her first child or else guess his name: she guesses his name and he vanishes or destroys himself in a rage.
  • running repairs — repairs, as to a machine or vehicle, that are minor and can be made with little or no interruption in the use of the item
  • russell's viper — a large venomous snake, Vipera russelli, common in India and southeastern Asia, having three rows of large, black-edged brown spots on a light-brown body.
  • sale of produce — the selling of something that is produced, esp agricultural products
  • salisbury plain — a plateau in S England, N of Salisbury: the site of Stonehenge.
  • samuel prescott — Samuel, 1751–77, U.S. patriot during the American Revolution: rode with Paul Revere and William Dawes to warn Colonists that British troops were marching from Boston, April 18, 1775.
  • saturated vapor — a vapor whose temperature and pressure are such that any compression of its volume at constant temperature causes it to condense to liquid at a rate sufficient to maintain a constant pressure.
  • sb's trump card — Your trump card is something powerful that you can use or do, which gives you an advantage over someone.
  • schopenhauerian — Arthur [ahr-too r] /ˈɑr tʊər/ (Show IPA), 1788–1860, German philosopher.
  • schopenhauerism — the philosophy of Schopenhauer, who taught that only the cessation of desire can solve the problems arising from the universal impulse of the will to live.
  • scpi consortium — (body)   A body established to promote Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments. Address: 8380 Hercules Drive, Suite P3, La Mesa, CA 91942, USA.
  • sculptor's tool — the constellation Caelum.
  • second republic — the republic established in France in 1848 and replaced by the Second Empire in 1852.
  • secondary group — a group of people with whom one's contacts are detached and impersonal.
  • security police — a police force responsible for maintaining order at a specific locale or under specific circumstances, as at an airport or factory.
  • seleucia pieria — an ancient port in Syria, on the River Orontes: the port of Antioch, of military importance during the wars between the Ptolemies and Seleucids; largely destroyed by earthquake in 526; site of present-day Samandaǧ (Turkey)
  • self-persuasion — the act of persuading or seeking to persuade.
  • self-production — produced by oneself or itself.
  • self-propulsion — propulsion by a vehicle's own engine, motor, or the like.
  • self-supporting — the supporting or maintaining of oneself or itself without reliance on outside aid.
  • serendipitously — come upon or found by accident; fortuitous: serendipitous scientific discoveries.
  • serum hepatitis — hepatitis B.
  • shoulder weapon — a firearm that is fired while being held in the hands with the butt of the weapon braced against the shoulder.
  • simple fracture — a fracture in which the bone does not pierce the skin.
  • slumpflationary — of or relating to slumpflation
  • snafu principle — /sna'foo prin'si-pl/ [WWII Army acronym for "Situation Normal: All Fucked Up"] "True communication is possible only between equals, because inferiors are more consistently rewarded for telling their superiors pleasant lies than for telling the truth." - a central tenet of Discordianism, often invoked by hackers to explain why authoritarian hierarchies screw up so reliably and systematically. The effect of the SNAFU principle is a progressive disconnection of decision-makers from reality. This lightly adapted version of a fable dating back to the early 1960s illustrates the phenomenon perfectly: In the beginning was the plan, and then the specification; And the plan was without form, and the specification was void. And darkness was on the faces of the implementors thereof; And they spake unto their leader, saying: "It is a crock of shit, and smells as of a sewer." And the leader took pity on them, and spoke to the project leader: "It is a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof." And the project leader spake unto his section head, saying: "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide it." The section head then hurried to his department manager, and informed him thus: "It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength." The department manager carried these words to his general manager, and spoke unto him saying: "It containeth that which aideth the growth of plants, and it is very strong." And so it was that the general manager rejoiced and delivered the good news unto the Vice President. "It promoteth growth, and it is very powerful." The Vice President rushed to the President's side, and joyously exclaimed: "This powerful new software product will promote the growth of the company!" And the President looked upon the product, and saw that it was very good. After the subsequent disaster, the suits protect themselves by saying "I was misinformed!", and the implementors are demoted or fired.
  • snapping turtle — either of two large, edible, freshwater turtles of the family Chelydridae, of North and Central America, having a large head and powerful hooked jaws, especially the common snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina.
  • sodium peroxide — a yellowish-white, hygroscopic, water-soluble powder, Na 2 O 2 , used chiefly as a bleaching agent and as an oxidizing agent.
  • southern paiute — See under Paiute (def 2).
  • spawning ground — a place where fish deposit their eggs for fertilization
  • special feature — an article differing from the normal format and focusing on a particular topic
  • spill your guts — If someone spills their guts, they tell you everything about something secret or private.
  • spinach-rhubarb — an Ethiopian plant, Rumex abyssinicus, of the buckwheat family, having leaves that are sometimes used as spinach and leafstalks sometimes used as rhubarb.
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