Words whose 10th letter is S

Abdominous (a.) Having a protuberant belly; pot-bellied.

Absentness (n.) The quality of being absent-minded.

Acephalous (a.) Without a distinct head; -- a term applied to bivalve mollusks.

Aeriferous (a.) Conveying or containing air; air-bearing; as, the windpipe is an aeriferous tube.

Agnosticism (n.) The doctrine that the existence of a personal Deity, an unseen world, etc., can be neither proved nor disproved, because of the necessary limits of the human mind (as sometimes charged upon Hamilton and Mansel), or because of the insufficiency of the evidence furnished by physical and physical data, to warrant a positive conclusion (as taught by the school of Herbert Spencer); -- opposed alike dogmatic skepticism and to dogmatic theism.

Alisanders (n.) A name given to two species of the genus Smyrnium, formerly cultivated and used as celery now is; -- called also horse parsely.

Alutaceous (a.) Of a pale brown color; leather-yellow.

Ambilevous (a.) Left-handed on both sides; clumsy; -- opposed to ambidexter.

Ambiparous (a.) Characterized by containing the rudiments of both flowers and leaves; -- applied to a bud.

Anadromous (a.) Tending upwards; -- said of terns in which the lowest secondary segments are on the upper side of the branch of the central stem.

Anthracnose (n.) Any one of several fungus diseases, caused by parasitic species of the series Melanconiales, attacking the bean, grape, melon, cotton, and other plants. In the case of the grape, brown concave spots are formed on the stem and fruit, and the disease is called bird's-eye rot.

Anatropous (a.) Having the ovule inverted at an early period in its development, so that the chalaza is as the apparent apex; -- opposed to orthotropous.

Ancipitous (a.) Two-edged instead of round; -- said of certain flattened stems, as those of blue grass, and rarely also of leaves.

Anglicanism (n.) The principles of the established church of England; also, in a restricted sense, the doctrines held by the high-church party.

Antilogous (a.) Of the contrary name or character; -- opposed to analogous.

Apocarpous (a.) Either entirely or partially separate, as the carpels of a compound pistil; -- opposed to syncarpous.

Aquiparous (a.) Secreting water; -- applied to certain glands.

Auriferous (a.) Gold-bearing; containing or producing gold.

Aurivorous (a.) Gold-devouring.

Auspicious (a.) Favoring; favorable; propitious; -- applied to persons or things.

Authentics (n.) A collection of the Novels or New Constitutions of Justinian, by an anonymous author; -- so called on account of its authenticity.

Autoecious (a.) Passing through all its stages on one host, as certain parasitic fungi; -- contrasted with heteroecious.

Autosuggestion (n.) Self-suggestion as distinguished from suggestion coming from another, esp. in hypnotism. Autosuggestion is characteristic of certain mental conditions in which expectant belief tends to produce disturbance of function of one or more organs.

Autogamous (a.) Characterized by autogamy; self-fertilized.

Autogenous (a.) Self-generated; produced independently.

Autonomous (a.) Independent in government; having the right or power of self-government.

Benedictus (a.) The song of Zacharias at the birth of John the Baptist (Luke i. 68); -- so named from the first word of the Latin version.

Bimetallism (n.) The legalized use of two metals (as gold and silver) in the currency of a country, at a fixed relative value; -- in opposition to monometallism.

Cahenslyism (n.) A plan proposed to the Pope in 1891 by P. P. Cahensly, a member of the German parliament, to divide the foreign-born population of the United States, for ecclesiastical purposes, according to European nationalities, and to appoint bishops and priests of like race and speaking the same language as the majority of the members of a diocese or congregation. This plan was successfully opposed by the American party in the Church.

Capellmeister (n.) The musical director in royal or ducal chapel; a choir-master.

Cassideous (a.) Helmet-shaped; -- applied to a corolla having a broad, helmet-shaped upper petal, as in aconite.

Catoptrics (n.) That part of optics which explains the properties and phenomena of reflected light, and particularly that which is reflected from mirrors or polished bodies; -- formerly called anacamptics.

Chaparajos (n. pl.) Overalls of sheepskin or leather, usually open at the back, worn, esp. by cowboys, to protect the legs from thorny bushes, as in the chaparral; -- called also chapareras or colloq. chaps.

Chaparajos (n. pl.) Overalls of sheepskin or leather, usually open at the back, worn, esp. by cowboys, to protect the legs from thorny bushes, as in the chaparral; -- called also chapareras or colloq. chaps.

Chippeways (n. pl.) A tribe of Indians formerly inhabiting the northern and western shores of Lake Superior; -- called also Objibways.

Chivalrous (a.) Pertaining to chivalry or knight-errantry; warlike; heroic; gallant; high-spirited; high-minded; magnanimous.

Chloroplastid (n.) A granule of chlorophyll; -- also called chloroleucite.

Christcross (n.) The mark of the cross, as cut, painted, written, or stamped on certain objects, -- sometimes as the sign of 12 o'clock on a dial.

Chromoplastid (n.) A protoplasmic granule of some other color than green; -- also called chromoleucite.

Chrysoprase (n.) An apple-green variety of chalcedony, colored by nickel. It has a dull flinty luster, and is sometimes used in jewelry.

Contrabass (n.) Double bass; -- applied to any instrument of the same deep range as the stringed double bass; as, the contrabass ophicleide; the contrabass tuba or bombardon.

Countercaster (n.) A caster of accounts; a reckoner; a bookkeeper; -- used contemptuously.

Counterpassant (a.) Passant in opposite directions; -- said of two animals.

Courtehouse (n.) A county town; -- so called in Virginia and some others of the Southern States.

Creationism (n.) The doctrine that a soul is specially created for each human being as soon as it is formed in the womb; -- opposed to traducianism.

Cryptocrystalline (a.) Indistinctly crystalline; -- applied to rocks and minerals, whose state of aggregation is so fine that no distinct particles are visible, even under the microscope.

Cytogenous (a.) Producing cells; -- applied esp. to lymphatic, or adenoid, tissue.

Dipetalous (a.) Having two petals; two-petaled.

Disastrous (a.) Full of unpropitious stellar influences; unpropitious; ill-boding.

Disastrous (a.) Attended with suffering or disaster; very unfortunate; calamitous; ill-fated; as, a disastrous day; a disastrous termination of an undertaking.

Disepalous (a.) Having two sepals; two-sepaled.

Dispossess (v. t.) To put out of possession; to deprive of the actual occupancy of, particularly of land or real estate; to disseize; to eject; -- usually followed by of before the thing taken away; as, to dispossess a king of his crown.

Dispossession (n.) The putting out of possession, wrongfully or otherwise, of one who is in possession of a freehold, no matter in what title; -- called also ouster.

Distichous (n.) Disposed in two vertical rows; two-ranked.

Distinguish (v. t.) To separate from others by a mark of honor; to make eminent or known; to confer distinction upon; -- with by or for.

Distinguish (v. i.) To make distinctions; to perceive the difference; to exercise discrimination; -- with between; as, a judge distinguishes between cases apparently similar, but differing in principle.

Distinguished (a.) Separated from others by distinct difference; having, or indicating, superiority; eminent or known; illustrious; -- applied to persons and deeds.

Drunkenness (n.) The state of being drunken with, or as with, alcoholic liquor; intoxication; inebriety; -- used of the casual state or the habit.

Earthwards (adv.) Toward the earth; -- opposed to heavenward or skyward.

Endogamous (a.) Marrying within the same tribe; -- opposed to exogamous.

Entireness (n.) Oneness; unity; -- applied to a condition of intimacy or close association.

Eudaemonism (n.) That system of ethics which defines and enforces moral obligation by its relation to happiness or personal well-being.

Euphonious (a.) Pleasing or sweet in sound; euphonic; smooth-sounding.

Fatiferous (a.) Fate-bringing; deadly; mortal; destructive.

Flagitious (a.) Disgracefully or shamefully criminal; grossly wicked; scandalous; shameful; -- said of acts, crimes, etc.

Flagitious (a.) Guilty of enormous crimes; corrupt; profligate; -- said of persons.

Fossorious (a.) Adapted for digging; -- said of the legs of certain insects.

Gallowglass (n.) A heavy-armed foot soldier from Ireland and the Western Isles in the time of Edward /

Generalissimo (a.) The chief commander of an army; especially, the commander in chief of an army consisting of two or more grand divisions under separate commanders; -- a title used in most foreign countries.

Gentleness (n.) The quality or state of being gentle, well-born, mild, benevolent, docile, etc.; gentility; softness of manners, disposition, etc.; mildness.

Geophagous (a.) Earth-eating.

Goldylocks (n.) A plant of several species of the genus Chrysocoma; -- so called from the tufts of yellow flowers which terminate the stems; also, the Ranunculus auricomus, a kind of buttercup.

Gonochorism (n.) Separation of the sexes in different individuals; -- opposed to hermaphroditism.

Guelderrose' (n.) A cultivated variety of a species of Viburnum (V. Opulus), bearing large bunches of white flowers; -- called also snowball tree.

Histogenesis (n.) The formation and development of organic tissues; histogeny; -- the opposite of histolysis.

Homogamous (a.) Having all the flowers alike; -- said of such composite plants as Eupatorium, and the thistels.

Homogenous (a.) Having a resemblance in structure, due to descent from a common progenitor with subsequent modification; homogenetic; -- applied both to animals and plants. See Homoplastic.

Homonymous (a.) Having the same name or designation; standing in the same relation; -- opposed to heteronymous.

Hydromedusa (n.) Any medusa or jellyfish which is produced by budding from a hydroid. They are called also Craspedota, and naked-eyed medusae.

Hypogynous (a.) Inserted below the pistil or pistils; -- said of sepals, petals, and stamens; having the sepals, petals, and stamens inserted below the pistil; -- said of a flower or a plant.

Hypostasis (n.) Substance; subsistence; essence; person; personality; -- used by the early theologians to denote any one of the three subdivisions of the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Hypostasis (n.) Principle; an element; -- used by the alchemists in speaking of salt, sulphur, and mercury, which they considered as the three principles of all material bodies.

Hypothenuse (n.) The side of a right-angled triangle that is opposite to the right angle.

Ichthyosis (n.) A disease in which the skin is thick, rough, and scaly; -- called also fishskin.

Iconodulist (n.) One who serves images; -- opposed to an iconoclast.

Incompressibility (n.) The quality of being incompressible, or incapable of reduction in volume by pressure; -- formerly supposed to be a property of liquids.

Inducteous (a.) Rendered electro-polar by induction, or brought into the opposite electrical state by the influence of inductive bodies.

Infusionism (n.) The doctrine that the soul is preexistent to the body, and is infused into it at conception or birth; -- opposed to tradicianism and creationism.

Karyokinesis (n.) The indirect division of cells in which, prior to division of the cell protoplasm, complicated changes take place in the nucleus, attended with movement of the nuclear fibrils; -- opposed to karyostenosis. The nucleus becomes enlarged and convoluted, and finally the threads are separated into two groups which ultimately become disconnected and constitute the daughter nuclei. Called also mitosis. See Cell development, under Cell.

Letterpress (n.) Print; letters and words impressed on paper or other material by types; -- often used of the reading matter in distinction from the illustrations.

Liliaceous (a.) Of or pertaining to a natural order of which the lily, tulip, and hyacinth are well-known examples.

Lyriferous (a.) Having a lyre-shaped shoulder girdle, as certain fishes.

Malvaceous (a.) Pertaining to, or resembling, a natural order of plants (Malvaceae), of which the mallow is the type. The cotton plant, hollyhock, and abutilon are of this order, and the baobab and the silk-cotton trees are now referred to it.

Marseilles (n.) A general term for certain kinds of fabrics, which are formed of two series of threads interlacing each other, thus forming double cloth, quilted in the loom; -- so named because first made in Marseilles, France.

Melicerous (a.) Consisting of or containing matter like honey; -- said of certain encysted tumors.

Mightiness (n.) Highness; excellency; -- with a possessive pronoun, a title of dignity; as, their high mightinesses.

Miraculous (a.) Wonder-working.

Mixogamous (a.) Pairing with several males; -- said of certain fishes of which several males accompany each female during spawning.

Monanthous (a.) Having but one flower; one-flowered.

Monoecious (a.) Having the sexes united in one individual, as when male and female flowers grow upon the same individual plant; hermaphrodite; -- opposed to dioecious.

Monogamous (a.) Mating with but one of the opposite sex; -- said of birds and mammals.

Monomerous (a.) Having but one joint; -- said of the foot of certain insects.

Neoimpressionism (n.) A theory or practice which is a further development, on more rigorously scientific lines, of the theory and practice of Impressionism, originated by George Seurat (1859-91), and carried on by Paul Signac (1863- -) and others. Its method is marked by the laying of pure primary colors in minute dots upon a white ground, any given Noncondensible (a.) Not condensible; incapable of being liquefied; -- said of gases.

Nucleoplasmic (a.) Of or pertaining to nucleoplasm; -- esp. applied to a body formed in the developing ovum from the plasma of the nucleus of the germinal vesicle.

Obcompressed (a.) Compressed or flattened antero-posteriorly, or in a way opposite to the usual one.

Officialism (n.) The state of being official; a system of official government; also, adherence to office routine; red-tapism.

Olivaceous (a.) Resembling the olive; of the color of the olive; olive-green.

Omniferous (a.) All-bearing; producing all kinds.

Omniscious (a.) All-knowing.

Omnivorous (a.) All-devouring; eating everything indiscriminately; as, omnivorous vanity; esp. (Zool.), eating both animal and vegetable food.

Pachyglossal (a.) Having a thick tongue; -- applied to a group of lizards (Pachyglossae), including the iguanas and agamas.

Palingenesy (n.) A new birth; a re-creation; a regeneration; a continued existence in different manner or form.

Palingenesy (n.) That form of evolution in which the truly ancestral characters conserved by heredity are reproduced in development; original simple descent; -- distinguished from kenogenesis. Sometimes, in zoology, the abrupt metamorphosis of insects, crustaceans, etc.

Palladious (a.) Of, pertaining to, or containing, palladium; -- used specifically to designate those compounds in which palladium has a lower valence as compared with palladic compounds.

Parallelism (n.) Similarity of construction or meaning of clauses placed side by side, especially clauses expressing the same sentiment with slight modifications, as is common in Hebrew poetry; e. g.: --//At her feet he bowed, he fell:/Where he bowed, there he fell down dead. Judg. v. 27.

Parkleaves (n.) A European species of Saint John's-wort; the tutsan. See Tutsan.

Paronymous (a.) Having the same derivation; allied radically; conjugate; -- said of certain words, as man, mankind, manhood, etc.

Paronymous (a.) Having a similar sound, but different orthography and different meaning; -- said of certain words, as al/ and awl; hair and hare, etc.

Pecopteris (n.) An extensive genus of fossil ferns; -- so named from the regular comblike arrangement of the leaflets.

Peppergrass (n.) Any herb of the cruciferous genus Lepidium, especially the garden peppergrass, or garden cress, Lepidium sativum; -- called also pepperwort. All the species have a pungent flavor.

Perigynous (a.) Having the ovary free, but the petals and stamens borne on the calyx; -- said of flower such as that of the cherry or peach.

Pettychaps (n.) Any one of several species of small European singing birds of the subfamily Sylviinae, as the willow warbler, the chiff-chaff, and the golden warbler (Sylvia hortensis).

Pluroderes (n. pl.) A group of fresh-water turtles in which the neck can not be retracted, but is bent to one side, for protection. The matamata is an example.

Polyanthus (n.) The oxlip. So called because the peduncle bears a many-flowered umbel. See Oxlip. (b) A bulbous flowering plant of the genus Narcissus (N. Tazetta, or N. polyanthus of some authors). See Illust. of Narcissus.

Polyarchist (n.) One who advocates polyarchy; -- opposed to monarchist.

Polycrotism (n.) That state or condition of the pulse in which the pulse curve, or sphygmogram, shows several secondary crests or elevations; -- contrasted with monocrotism and dicrotism.

Polygamous (a.) Of or pertaining to polygamy; characterized by, or involving, polygamy; having a plurality of wives; as, polygamous marriages; -- opposed to monogamous.

Polytomous (a.) Subdivided into many distinct subordinate parts, which, however, not being jointed to the petiole, are not true leaflets; -- said of leaves.

Portcullis (n.) An English coin of the reign of Elizabeth, struck for the use of the East India Company; -- so called from its bearing the figure of a portcullis on the reverse.

Postticous (a.) Situated on the outer side of a filament; -- said of an extrorse anther.

Proxenetism (n.) The action of a go-between or broker in negotiating immoral bargains between the sexes; procuring.

Precocious (a.) Developed more than is natural or usual at a given age; exceeding what is to be expected of one's years; too forward; -- used especially of mental forwardness; as, a precocious child; precocious talents.

Prepossession (n.) Preoccupation of the mind by an opinion, or impression, already formed; preconceived opinion; previous impression; bias; -- generally, but not always, used in a favorable sense; as, the prepossessions of childhood.

Prettiness (n.) The quality or state of being pretty; -- used sometimes in a disparaging sense.

Prochronism (n.) The dating of an event before the time it happened; an antedating; -- opposed to metachronism.

Procrustes (n.) A celebrated legendary highwayman of Attica, who tied his victims upon an iron bed, and, as the case required, either stretched or cut of their legs to adapt them to its length; -- whence the metaphorical phrase, the bed of Procrustes.

Propitious (a.) Hence, kind; gracious; merciful; helpful; -- said of a person or a divinity.

Prosthesis (n.) The addition to the human body of some artificial part, to replace one that is wanting, as a log or an eye; -- called also prothesis.

Pteroceras (n.) A genus of large marine gastropods having the outer border of the lip divided into lobes; -- called also scorpion shell.

Pupigerous (a.) Bearing or containing a pupa; -- said of dipterous larvae which do not molt when the pupa is formed within them.

Pupiparous (a.) Bearing, or containing, a pupa; -- said of the matured larvae, or larval skins, of certain Diptera.

Rampacious (a.) High-spirited; rampageous.

Rationalism (n.) The system that makes rational power the ultimate test of truth; -- opposed to sensualism, or sensationalism, and empiricism.

Rhodochrosite (n.) Manganese carbonate, a rose-red mineral sometimes occuring crystallized, but generally massive with rhombohedral cleavage like calcite; -- called also dialogite.

Romanticism (n.) A fondness for romantic characteristics or peculiarities; specifically, in modern literature, an aiming at romantic effects; -- applied to the productions of a school of writers who sought to revive certain medi/val forms and methods in opposition to the so-called classical style.

Rubiginous (a.) Having the appearance or color of iron rust; rusty-looking.

Saltirewise (adv.) In the manner of a saltire; -- said especially of the blazoning of a shield divided by two lines drawn in the direction of a bend and a bend sinister, and crossing at the center.

Saxicavous (a.) Boring, or hollowing out, rocks; -- said of certain mollusks which live in holes which they burrow in rocks. See Illust. of Lithodomus.

Schreibersite (n.) A mineral occurring in steel-gray flexible folia. It contains iron, nickel, and phosphorus, and is found only in meteoric iron.

Secularness (n.) The quality or state of being secular; worldliness; worldly-minded-ness.

Selfishness (n.) The quality or state of being selfish; exclusive regard to one's own interest or happiness; that supreme self-love or self-preference which leads a person to direct his purposes to the advancement of his own interest, power, or happiness, without regarding those of others.

Setiparous (a.) Producing setae; -- said of the organs from which the setae of annelids arise.

Sinistrorse (a.) Turning to the left (of the spectator) in the ascending line; -- the opposite of dextrorse. See Dextrorse.

Strabismus (n.) An affection of one or both eyes, in which the optic axes can not be directed to the same object, -- a defect due either to undue contraction or to undue relaxation of one or more of the muscles which move the eyeball; squinting; cross-eye.

Strophulus (n.) See Red-gum, 1.

Studding sail () A light sail set at the side of a principal or square sail of a vessel in free winds, to increase her speed. Its head is bent to a small spar which is called the studding-sail boom. See Illust. of Sail.

Subriguous (a.) Watered or wet beneath; well-watered.

Syndicalism (n.) The theory, plan, or practice of trade-union action (originally as advocated and practiced by the French Confederation Generale du Travail) which aims to abolish the present political and social system by means of the general strike (as distinguished from the local or sectional strike) and direct action of whatever kind (as distinguished from action which takes effect only through the medium of political action) -- direct action including any kind of action that is directly ef> Synanthous (a.) Having flowers and leaves which appear at the same time; -- said of certain plants.

Syngenesis (n.) A theory of generation in which each germ is supposed to contain the germs of all subsequent generations; -- the opposite of epigenesis.

Tachyglossa (n. pl.) A division of monotremes which comprises the spiny ant-eaters of Australia and New Guinea. See Illust. under Echidna.

Taenioglossa (n. pl.) An extensive division of gastropod mollusks in which the odontophore is long and narrow, and usually bears seven rows of teeth. It includes a large number of families both marine and fresh-water.

Tersanctus (n.) An ancient ascription of praise (containing the word "Holy" -- in its Latin form, "Sanctus" -- thrice repeated), used in the Mass of the Roman Catholic Church and before the prayer of consecration in the communion service of the Church of England and the Protestant Episcopal Church. Cf. Trisagion.

Thrombosis (n.) The obstruction of a blood vessel by a clot formed at the site of obstruction; -- distinguished from embolism, which is produced by a clot or foreign body brought from a distance.

Transgressive (a.) Disposed or tending to transgress; faulty; culpable. -

Triflorous (a.) Three-flowered; having or bearing three flowers; as, a triflorous peduncle.

Trimorphism (n.) The coexistence among individuals of the same species of three distinct forms, not connected, as a rule, by intermediate gradations; the condition among individuals of the same species of having three different shapes or proportions of corresponding parts; -- contrasted with polymorphism, and dimorphism.

Unicornous (a.) Having but a single horn; -- said of certain insects.

Voluntarism (n.) Any theory which conceives will to be the dominant factor in experience or in the constitution of the world; -- contrasted with intellectualism. Schopenhauer and Fichte are typical exponents of the two types of metaphysical voluntarism, Schopenhauer teaching that the evolution of the universe is the activity of a blind and irrational will, Fichte holding that the intelligent activity of the ego is the fundamental fact of reality.

Villainous (a.) Sorry; mean; mischievous; -- in a familiar sense.

Viperoides (n. pl.) A division of serpents which includes the true vipers of the Old World and the rattlesnakes and moccasin snakes of America; -- called also Viperina.

Viviparous (a.) Producing young in a living state, as most mammals, or as those plants the offspring of which are produced alive, either by bulbs instead of seeds, or by the seeds themselves germinating on the plant, instead of falling, as they usually do; -- opposed to oviparous.

Weismannism (n.) The theories and teachings in regard to heredity propounded by the German biologist August Weismann, esp. in regard to germ plasm as the basis of heredity and the impossibility of transmitting acquired characteristics; -- often called neo-Darwinism.

Whistlefish (n.) A gossat, or rockling; -- called also whistler, three-bearded rockling, sea loach, and sorghe.

Worldliness (n.) The quality of being worldly; a predominant passion for obtaining the good things of this life; covetousness; addictedness to gain and temporal enjoyments; worldly-mindedness.

Yellowlegs (n.) Any one of several species of long-legged sandpipers of the genus Totanus, in which the legs are bright yellow; -- called also stone snipe, tattler, telltale, yellowshanks; and yellowshins. See Tattler, 2.

Zaphrentis (n.) An extinct genus of cyathophylloid corals common in the Paleozoic formations. It is cup-shaped with numerous septa, and with a deep pit in one side of the cup.

Zoophorous (n.) The part between the architrave and cornice; the frieze; -- so called from the figures of animals carved upon it.

About the author

Mark McCracken Author: Mark McCracken is a corporate trainer and author living in Higashi Osaka, Japan. He is the author of thousands of online articles as well as the Business English textbook, "25 Business Skills in English".

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