sulfurous

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   containing, resembling, or smelling of sulfur

   Sulfurous fumes drifted from the volcanic crater.

2. 2
   adj

   harsh, fiery, or corrosive in tone or character

   The critic delivered a sulfurous attack on the corrupt administration.

From Latin sulfurosus, formed from sulfur or sulphur + -ous ("full of or characterized by"). The figurative sense draws on sulfur's acrid fumes and traditional association with fire and brimstone. Sulphurous is the usual British spelling.

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