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Containing sulfur, especially sulfur with a valence of 4 or 3.
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Compare sulfuric
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Characteristic of or emanating from burning sulfur.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sulfurous
From the Latin word sulfurōsus, dating back to 1520–30. See sulfur, -ous
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.
Asian refineries are built to process denser and more sulfurous crude oil from the Middle East, not the lighter U.S. equivalent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026
“Smog” is a turn-of-the-century portmanteau word mashing together “smoke” and “fog” to describe the sooty, sulfurous air of the London of Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
It has a sulfurous smell that takes on a similar flavor to both onion and garlic.
From Salon ● Feb. 26, 2026
Sulfuric acid forms in the atmosphere from various sulfurous substances.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 4, 2024
When Mom got home, she wrinkled her nose at the sulfurous odor, then went into the basement and looked at the ruined hot-water heater.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
