16-letter words starting with d
- decentralization — to distribute the administrative powers or functions of (a central authority) over a less concentrated area: to decentralize the national government.
- dechristianizing — Present participle of dechristianize.
- decimal currency — a system of currency in which the monetary units are parts or powers of ten
- decimal fraction — a fraction whose denominator is some power of 10, usually indicated by a dot (decimal point or point) written before the numerator: as 0.4 = 4/10; 0.126 = 126/1000.
- decision problem — (theory) A problem with a yes/no answer. Determining whether some potential solution to a question is actually a solution or not. E.g. "Is 43669" a prime number?". This is in contrast to a "search problem" which must find a solution from scratch, e.g. "What is the millionth prime number?". See decidability.
- decision support — Software used to aid management decision making, typically relying on a decision support database.
- declare war (on) — to make a formal declaration of being at war (with)
- declassification — to remove the classification from (information, a document, etc.) that restricts access in terms of secrecy, confidentiality, etc. Compare classification (def 5).
- deconstructively — In a deconstructive manner.
- decontextualized — removed from the usual context
- dedifferentiated — That has undergone dedifferentiation.
- dedolomitization — a metamorphic process in which the magnesium in dolomitic rock forms new minerals, as brucite and forsterite, and the calcium forms calcite.
- deep in the past — long ago
- deep-sea fishing — the activity of catching fish that live in the deep parts of the sea
- defective number — a positive number that is greater than the sum of all positive integers that are submultiples of it, as 10, which is greater than the sum of 1, 2, and 5.
- defence in depth — the act or practice of positioning successive mutually supporting lines of defence in a given area
- deferred annuity — an annuity that commences not less than one year after the final purchase premium
- deferred success — (in Britain) a euphemism suggested as an alternative to ‘failure’, in order not to stigmatize pupils who have not achieved a pass in a particular subject
- deficit spending — Deficit spending is an economic policy in which a government spends more money raised by borrowing than it receives in revenue.
- definite article — The word 'the' is sometimes called the definite article.
- deflationary gap — a situation in which total spending in an economy is insufficient to buy all the output that can be produced with full employment
- deflecting force — the apparent deflection (Coriolis acceleration) of a body in motion with respect to the earth, as seen by an observer on the earth, attributed to a fictitious force (Coriolis force) but actually caused by the rotation of the earth and appearing as a deflection to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and a deflection to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
- degenerate state — a state of a system characterized by a set of quantum numbers and represented by an eigenfunction. The energy of each state is precise within the limits imposed by the uncertainty principle but may be changed by applying a field of force. States that have the same energy are called degenerate
- degrees of frost — When someone says that there are a particular number of degrees of frost they mean that the temperature is that number of degrees below freezing point.
- dehumidification — Dehumidification is the removal of vapor from a gas-vapor mixture.
- dehydroascorbate — (organic compound) Any salt or ester of dehydroascorbic acid.
- deindustrialised — Simple past tense and past participle of deindustrialise.
- deindustrialized — Simple past tense and past participle of deindustrialize.
- delayed reaction — response after an interval
- delaying tactics — techniques used to delay sth
- delegitimization — The act or process of delegitimizing.
- deliberativeness — The state or quality of being deliberative.
- delirium tremens — a severe psychotic condition occurring in some persons with chronic alcoholism, characterized by delirium, tremor, anxiety, and vivid hallucinations
- delphi technique — a forecasting or decision-making technique that makes use of written questionnaires to eliminate the influence of personal relationships and the domination of committees by strong personalities
- delta connection — a connection used in a three-phase electrical system in which three elements in series form a triangle, the supply being input and output at the three junctions
- delta conversion — delta reduction
- dementia praecox — schizophrenia
- demerara (sugar) — a coarse, light-brown sugar
- demilitarisation — The removal of a military force, usually at the end of hostilities or as part of a treaty.
- demilitarization — to deprive of military character; free from militarism.
- demineralisation — Alternative spelling of demineralization.
- demineralization — to remove minerals from; deprive of mineral content.
- democratic party — (in the US) the older and more liberal of the two major political parties, so named since 1840
- demoiselle crane — a gray crane, Anthropoides virgo, of northern Africa, Europe, and Asia, having long, white plumes behind each eye.
- demolition derby — a competition in which contestants drive old cars into each other until there is only one car left running
- demolition squad — a group of demolishers
- demonstrableness — The quality of being demonstrable.
- demutualizations — Plural form of demutualization.
- denaturalization — The act or process of denaturalizing, of changing or destroying the quality (nature) of a thing.
- dendrochronology — the study of the annual rings of trees, used esp to date past events