sulphurous

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

adjective

1. sulfurous.

2. pertaining to the fires of hell; hellish or satanic.

3. fiery or heated.

sulphurous

/ ˈsʌlfərəs /

adjective

1. Also: sulphureous. of, relating to, or resembling sulphur

   a sulphurous colour

2. of or containing sulphur with an oxidation state of 4

   sulphurous acid

3. of or relating to hellfire

4. hot-tempered

Other Word Forms

• sulphurously adverb
• sulphurousness noun
• nonsulphurous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sulphurous¹

First recorded in 1520–30; spelling variant of sulfurous

Example Sentences

And the circumstances are full of the same sulphurous contention that used once to mark his every move.

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Clouds of sulphurous gases swirled around the crater and fissures opened up in the rock just metres away, revealing molten rock below.

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On China's frenetic and hugely popular retail livestreams, glamorous hosts sell goods ranging from shoes and lipsticks to baby products and, increasingly, truckloads of sulphurous coal.

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The Russian nationalist leader was a senior lawmaker whose sulphurous rhetoric and antics alarmed the West but appealed to Russians’ aggrievement and wounded pride.

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From time to time the sea would flare with a soft sulphurous light where forty feet down Oiler was working with the cuttingtorch.

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Related Words

• biting 
• caustic 
• harsh 
• mordant 
• sarcastic 
• scorching 
• searing 
• trenchant 
• withering