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19-letter words containing v, a, p

  • overhead projection — the projection (using an overhead projector) of an enlarged image of a transparency onto a surface above and behind the person using it
  • overplay one's hand — If you say that someone is overplaying something such as a problem, you mean that they are making it seem more important than it really is.
  • palomar observatory — an astronomical observatory situated on Palomar Mountain in S California, having a 200-inch (508-cm) reflecting telescope and a 48-inch (122-cm) Schmidt telescope.
  • parainfluenza virus — any of a group of viruses that cause respiratory infections with influenza-like symptoms, esp in children
  • particular negative — a proposition of the form “Some S is not P.” Symbol: O.
  • peak envelope power — (communications)   (PEP) The maximum power output by a radio transmitter over one complete RF cycle at any modulation.
  • pecuniary advantage — financial advantage that is dishonestly obtained by deception and that constitutes a criminal offence
  • perpetual inventory — a form of stock control in which running records are kept of all acquisitions and disposals
  • photovoltaic effect — the phenomenon in which the incidence of light or other electromagnetic radiation upon the junction of two dissimilar materials, as a metal and a semiconductor, induces the generation of an electromotive force.
  • piggyback investing — Piggyback investing is a situation in which a broker repeats a trade on his own behalf immediately after trading for an investor, because he thinks the investor may have inside information.
  • play the devil with — Theology. (sometimes initial capital letter) the supreme spirit of evil; Satan. a subordinate evil spirit at enmity with God, and having power to afflict humans both with bodily disease and with spiritual corruption.
  • pneumatic conveying — Pneumatic conveying is the movement of powdered or granulated solids using air.
  • pneumogastric nerve — the vagus nerve.
  • popular sovereignty — the doctrine that sovereign power is vested in the people and that those chosen to govern, as trustees of such power, must exercise it in conformity with the general will.
  • postal savings bank — any of the savings banks formerly operated by local post offices and limited to small accounts.
  • pre-order traversal — traversal
  • predicate adjective — an adjective used in the predicate, especially with a copulative verb and attributive to the subject, as in He is dead, or attributive to the direct object, as in It made him sick.
  • predicate objective — objective complement.
  • preferential voting — a system of voting designed to permit the voter to indicate an order of preference for the candidates on the ballot.
  • pretty good privacy — (tool, cryptography)   (PGP) A high security RSA public-key encryption application for MS-DOS, Unix, VAX/VMS, and other computers. It was written by Philip R. Zimmermann <[email protected]> of Phil's Pretty Good(tm) Software and later augmented by a cast of thousands, especially including Hal Finney, Branko Lankester, and Peter Gutmann. PGP was distributed as "guerrilla freeware". The authors don't mind if it is distributed widely, just don't ask Philip Zimmermann to send you a copy. PGP uses a public-key encryption algorithm claimed by US patent #4,405,829. The exclusive rights to this patent are held by a California company called Public Key Partners, and you may be infringing this patent if you use PGP in the USA. This is explained in the PGP User's Guide, Volume II. PGP allows people to exchange files or messages with privacy and authentication. Privacy and authentication are provided without managing the keys associated with conventional cryptographic software. No secure channels are needed to exchange keys between users, which makes PGP much easier to use. This is because PGP is based on public-key cryptography. PGP encrypts data using the International Data Encryption Algorithm with a random session key, and uses the RSA algorithm to encrypt the session key. In December 1994 Philip Zimmermann faced prosecution for "exporting" PGP out of the United States but in January 1996 the US Goverment dropped the case. A US law prohibits the export of encryption software out of the country. Zimmermann did not do this, but the US government hoped to establish the proposition that posting an encryption program on a BBS or on the Internet constitutes exporting it - in effect, stretching export control into domestic censorship. If the government had won it would have had a chilling effect on the free flow of information on the global network, as well as on everyone's privacy from government snooping.
  • private first class — a soldier ranking above a private and below a corporal or specialist fourth class in the U.S. Army, and above a private and below a lance corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps.
  • private prosecution — a prosecution started by a private individual rather than by the police
  • privatization issue — an issue of shares available for purchase by members of the public when a publicly owned organization is transferred to the private sector
  • professional advice — advice given by someone trained in a particular and relevant profession or job
  • progressive judaism — Reform Judaism.
  • provably unsolvable — The set or property of problems for which no algorithm at all exists. E.g. the Halting Problem. See also provably difficult.
  • pseudo-conservative — disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
  • pseudo-intransitive — denoting an occurrence of a normally transitive verb in which a direct object is not explicitly stated or forms the subject of the sentence, as in Margaret is cooking or these apples cook well
  • psychological novel — a novel that focuses on the complex mental and emotional lives of its characters and explores the various levels of mental activity.
  • pyorrhea alveolaris — a chronic periodontitis of the gums and tooth sockets, characterized by the formation of pus and, usually, by loosening of the teeth
  • pyorrhea-alveolaris — Pathology. a discharge of pus.
  • rancho palos verdes — a town in SW California.
  • reactive depression — depression occurring in response to some situational stress, as loss of one's job.
  • reciprocal leveling — leveling between two widely separated points in which observations are made in both directions to eliminate the effects of atmospheric refraction and the curvature of the earth.
  • relative complement — the set of elements contained in a given set that are not elements of another specified set.
  • relative impediment — a fact or circumstance that disqualifies from lawful marriage persons who are closely related.
  • republic of vietnam — the name (from 1955–75) for South Vietnam, as an independent republic, following the division of the country in 1954 into North Vietnam and South Vietnam
  • reserved occupation — in time of war, an occupation from which one will not be called up for military service
  • sacrifice operative — a euphemistic term for a suicide bomber
  • semipalmated plover — a New World plover, Charadrius semipalmatus, having a black ring around the chest and semipalmate feet, inhabiting beaches and salt marshes.
  • sensory deprivation — the experimental or natural reduction of environmental stimuli, as by physical isolation or loss of eyesight, often leading to cognitive, perceptual, or behavioral changes, as disorientation, delusions, or panic.
  • separation negative — Photography. a black-and-white negative of one of the additive primary colors used to form a color image.
  • special air service — a regiment in the British Army specializing in clandestine operations
  • speculative fiction — a broad literary genre encompassing any fiction with supernatural, fantastical, or futuristic elements
  • stratford-upon-avon — town in S Warwickshire, England, on the Avon: birthplace & burial place of Shakespeare: pop. of county district (called Stratford-on-Avon) 106,000
  • subtractive process — a process of color photography in which the colors are formed by combination of cyan, yellow, and magenta lights.
  • supernatural virtue — one of the three graces: faith, hope, or charity, infused into the human intellect and will by a special grace of God.
  • supreme de volaille — suprême (def 2).
  • tamper-evident seal — A tamper-evident seal is a sealing device designed to reveal if the opening of a container has been interfered with.
  • the provisional ira — the unofficial faction of the IRA that became increasingly dominant following a split in 1969. The Provisional movement remained committed to a policy of terrorism until its ceasefires of the mid-1990s
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