sulfurous

adjective sul·fu·rous \ ˈsəl-fə-rəs , -fyə- also (especially for sense 1a) ˌsəl-ˈfyu̇r-əs \

variants: or chiefly British sulphurous

Updated on: 10 Mar 2018

Definition of sulfurous

1 a : of, relating to, or containing sulfur especially with a lower valence than sulfuric compounds

sulfurous esters

b : resembling or emanating from sulfur and especially burning sulfur

2 a : of, relating to, or dealing with the fire of hell : infernal

b : scathing, virulent

sulfurous denunciations

c : profane, blasphemous

sulfurous language

—

sulfurously

adverb

—

sulfurousness

noun

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Is it sulfur or sulphur?

The spelling sulfur predominates in U.S. technical usage, while both sulfur and sulphur are common in general usage. British usage tends to favor sulphur for all applications. The same pattern is seen in most of the words derived from sulfur.

Recent Examples of sulfurous from the Web

At the summit, one crater spits sulfurous clouds of gas.

— christopher bagley, Condé Nast Traveler, "In Mount Etna's Shadow, Catania Is Raw, Authentic Italy," 8 Feb. 2018
In March, a sulfurous dispute erupted over the fate of Alaa Alsiddiq, an Emirati dissident who has been living in Doha since 2013.

— written by declan walsh; photographs by tomas munita, New York Times, "Tiny, Wealthy Qatar Goes Its Own Way, and Pays for It," 22 Jan. 2018
As sulfurous tendrils of smoke and ash swirled in the air above Cahuenga Boulevard, the studio started filling with a swap meet's worth of televisions and stereos.

— jeff weiss, chicagotribune.com, "25 years later, Dr. Dre's 'The Chronic' remains rap's world-building masterpiece," 15 Dec. 2017
Neither the kimchi fried rice, which tasted like ketchup and cabbage, nor the kimchi pancake did much to showcase kimchi’s sulfurous punch.

— mike sutter, San Antonio Express-News, "Review: Korean cafe serving up real Seoul food at Seoul Asian Market & Cafe," 14 Dec. 2017
Night after night, starting at 4:48 P.M. and repeating hourly, the Chief delivered his sulfurous on-air denunciations.

— marc wortman, Smithsonian, "The Fake British Radio Show That Helped Defeat the Nazis," 28 Feb. 2017
According to the press release, the volcanoes injected sulfurous gases into the stratosphere.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Volcanic Eruptions Could Have Spurred Revolts in Ancient Egypt," 20 Oct. 2017
The authors explain that sulfurous gases released during a powerful volcano can form reflective sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere.

— author: deborah netburn, Alaska Dispatch News, "Volcanic eruptions in Alaska could have impacted lives of ancient Egyptians," 17 Oct. 2017
The town abounds with hot springs, boiling mud, and, yes, the sulfurous farts of the gods.

— chris lee, Ars Technica, "How to harden a country that sits on a fault line," 16 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sulfurous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.