sulfurous

[suhl-fyoor-uhs, suhl-fer-]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or containing sulfur, especially in the tetravalent state.

2. of the yellow color of sulfur.

3. sulphurous.

sulfurous

1. Containing sulfur, especially sulfur with a valence of 4 or 3.

2. Compare sulfuric

3. Characteristic of or emanating from burning sulfur.

Other Word Forms

• sulfurously adverb
• sulfurousness noun
• nonsulfurous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sulfurous¹

From the Latin word sulfurōsus, dating back to 1520–30. See sulfur, -ous

Example Sentences

A tangle of light above a black silhouette of a palm tree emits a sulfurous glow, its nauseous beauty balanced on the tip of potential annihilation.

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Does this mean that humans also have the potential to create sulfurous stinks from our own insides?

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Sulfuric acid forms in the atmosphere from various sulfurous substances.

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Visitors often compare the smell of the sulfurous water in the springs to rotten eggs.

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Thousands of residents were forced to move out of their homes to escape a sulfurous stench and maladies including headaches, nausea and nose bleeds.

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