Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

furfural

American  
[fur-fyuh-ral, -fuh-] / ˈfɜr fjəˌræl, -fə- /

noun

  1. a colorless, oily liquid, C 5 H 4 O 2 , having an aromatic odor, obtained from bran, sugar, wood, corncobs, or the like, by distillation: used chiefly in the manufacture of plastics and as a solvent in the refining of lubricating oils.


furfural Scientific  
/ fûr′fə-răl′ /
  1. A colorless, sweet-smelling, liquid made from corncobs and used as a solvent in petroleum refining and as a fungicide and weed killer. It turns reddish brown when exposed to air and light. Furfural is an aldehyde of furan. Chemical formula: C 5 H 4 O 2 .


Etymology

Origin of furfural

1875–80; < Latin furfur bran + -al 3


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

If a book smells chocolatey, it’s likely that it is releasing vanillin, benzaldehyde and furfural – three chemicals associated with the degradation of the cellulose and lignin in paper.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 7, 2017

In fact, says Strlič, the smell is due to the release of chemicals such as furfural and hexanol as the paper itself decays.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 7, 2017

The University of Colorado's Richard Doty conducted more than 100,000 sniff tests to determine changes in the ability of volunteers to detect a chemical called furfural, a scent found in cloves and cinnamon.

From Time Magazine Archive

Three big uses for furfural are in plastics, in refining lubricating oils, in purification of wood rosin.

From Time Magazine Archive

This process, requiring the presence of strong HCl, has the advantage of being applied directly to the acid distillate, in which form furfural is obtained as a product of condensation of pentoses, &c.

From Researches on Cellulose 1895-1900 by C. F. Cross

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Just like flashcards, but way more fun

Don't take our word for it. Leave the boring studying behind and join VocabTrainer today. You'll learn even faster and never look back.

Take me to Vocabulary.com