import re
s = 'xyx - aaxx .aaayyy -aaaxyxxyyaaa.'
pattern = '[^- ]+' # sequences without - and space
for match in re.findall(pattern, s):
print('Found: {!r}'.format(match))
'''
run:
Found: 'xyx'
Found: 'aaxx'
Found: '.aaayyy'
Found: 'aaaxyxxyyaaa.'
'''