13-letter words containing s, u, r, f, a
- fluoroplastic — any of the plastics, as Teflon, in which hydrogen atoms of the hydrocarbon chains are replaced by fluorine atoms.
- flutterboards — Plural form of flutterboard.
- flying saucer — any of various disk-shaped objects allegedly seen flying at high speeds and altitudes, often with extreme changes in speed and direction, and thought by some to be manned by intelligent beings from outer space.
- focal seizure — an epileptic manifestation arising from a localized anomaly in the brain, as a small tumor or scar, and usually involving a single motor or sensory mechanism but occasionally spreading to other areas and causing convulsions and loss of consciousness.
- for values of — (jargon) A common rhetorical maneuver at MIT is to use any of the canonical random numbers as placeholders for variables. "The max function takes 42 arguments, for arbitrary values of 42". "There are 69 ways to leave your lover, for 69 = 50". This is especially likely when the speaker has uttered a random number and realises that it was not recognised as such, but even "non-random" numbers are occasionally used in this fashion. A related joke is that pi equals 3 - for small values of pi and large values of 3. This usage probably derives from the programming language MAD (Michigan Algorithm Decoder), an ALGOL-like language that was the most common choice among mainstream (non-hacker) users at MIT in the mid-1960s. It had a control structure FOR VALUES OF X = 3, 7, 99 DO ... that would repeat the indicated instructions for each value in the list (unlike the usual FOR that generates an arithmetic sequence of values). MAD is long extinct, but similar for-constructs still flourish (e.g. in Unix's shell languages).
- formularising — Present participle of formularise.
- formularistic — relating to formularization
- fortunateness — The quality of being fortunate; fortune; luck.
- four-way stop — an intersection of two roads with four stop signs, one facing in each direction
- fourth estate — the journalistic profession or its members; the press.
- fractiousness — refractory or unruly: a fractious animal that would not submit to the harness.
- fractocumulus — low ragged slightly bulbous cloud, often appearing below nimbostratus clouds during rain
- fractostratus — low ragged layered cloud often appearing below nimbostratus clouds during rain
- freudian slip — (in Freudian psychology) an inadvertent mistake in speech or writing that is thought to reveal a person's unconscious motives, wishes, or attitudes.
- frontal gyrus — any of several convolutions on the outer surface of the frontal lobe of the cerebrum.
- frumentaceous — of the nature of or resembling wheat or other grain.
- frumentarious — of or relating to wheat or a similar grain
- frustratingly — to make (plans, efforts, etc.) worthless or of no avail; defeat; nullify: The student's indifference frustrated the teacher's efforts to help him.
- functionaries — Plural form of functionary.
- furaciousness — the quality of being furacious or thievish
- fusarium wilt — a disease of plants, characterized by damping-off, wilting, and a brown dry rot, caused by fungi of the genus Fusarium.
- futilitarians — Plural form of futilitarian.
- gallimaufries — Plural form of gallimaufry.
- garnetiferous — containing or yielding garnets.
- granuliferous — full of granules, or producing granules
- gulf of saros — an inlet of the Aegean in NW Turkey, north of the Gallipoli Peninsula. Length: 59 km (37 miles). Width: 35 km (22 miles)
- gulf of sidra — a wide inlet of the Mediterranean on the N coast of Libya
- gulf-of-saros — Gulf of, an inlet of the Aegean, N of the Gallipoli Peninsula. 37 miles (60 km) long; 22 miles (35 km) wide.
- half measures — inadequate measures or actions
- hardship fund — funding offered or applied for due to financial difficulties
- hypersurfaces — Plural form of hypersurface.
- infrascapular — (anatomy) Beneath the scapula.
- justificatory — serving to justify; providing justification.
- lump of sugar — lump1 (def 4).
- magnesiferous — (geology) Containing magnesium.
- magnetiferous — (dated) Producing or conducting magnetism.
- mammaliferous — containing the remains of mammals
- manganiferous — containing manganese.
- manufactories — Plural form of manufactory.
- manufacturers — Plural form of manufacturer.
- masterfulness — The quality of being masterful.
- metalliferous — containing or yielding metal.
- nectariferous — producing nectar.
- nefariousness — extremely wicked or villainous; iniquitous: a nefarious plot.
- neurofibromas — Plural form of neurofibroma.
- new braunfels — a city in S Texas, near San Antonio.
- noncolourfast — (of a fabric) having a colour that tends to fade when washed or worn
- on sufferance — passive permission resulting from lack of interference; tolerance, especially of something wrong or illegal (usually preceded by on or by).
- out of square — a rectangle having all four sides of equal length.
- out-of-stater — a visitor from another state of the U.S.: Many out-of-staters come to our summer music festival.