pyrolusite

[ pahy-ruh-loo-sahyt, pahy-rol-yuh-sahyt ]

/ ˌpaɪ rəˈlu saɪt, paɪˈrɒl yəˌsaɪt /

Save This Word!

noun

a common mineral, manganese dioxide, MnO2, the principal ore of manganese, used in various manufactures, as a decolorizer of brown or green tints in glass, and as a depolarizer in dry-cell batteries.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of pyrolusite

1820–30; pyro- + Greek loûs(is) washing + -ite¹

Words nearby pyrolusite

pyrokinesis, pyroligneous, pyroligneous acid, pyroligneous alcohol, pyrolize, pyrolusite, pyrolyse, pyrolysis, pyromagnetic, pyromancy, pyromania

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use pyrolusite in a sentence

The same pyrolusite (binoxide of manganese) cylinder used with the same thin rod of zinc will precipitate 75 per cent.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 392, July 7, 1883|Various
Manganese occurs mainly as black oxide (MnO2) in the mineral pyrolusite; and, in a less pure form, in psilomelane and wad.
A Textbook of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines.|Cornelius Beringer and John Jacob Beringer
How does pyrolusite effect the decolorizing of glass containing iron?
An Elementary Study of Chemistry|William McPherson
As an ore of manganese it is much less abundant than pyrolusite or psilomelane.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 5|Various

Its dioxide (pyrolusite) has been known from very early times, and was at first mistaken for a magnetic oxide of iron.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 5|Various

British Dictionary definitions for pyrolusite

pyrolusite

/ (ˌpaɪrəʊˈluːsaɪt) /

noun

a blackish fibrous or soft powdery mineral consisting of manganese dioxide in tetragonal crystalline form. It occurs in association with other manganese ores and is an important source of manganese. Formula: MnO 2

Word Origin for pyrolusite

C19: from pyro- + Greek lousis a washing + -ite 1, from its use in purifying glass

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012