What does "sulfur" mean?
A chemical element with atomic number 16, having a bright yellow color and characteristic smell, used commercially in a variety of products such as insecticides, black powder, and matchsticks.
Sulfur
/ˈsʌl.fɚ/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A chemical element with atomic number 16, having a bright yellow color and characteristic smell, used commercially in a variety of products such as insecticides, black powder, and matchsticks.
- Grammar: sulfur is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: alabaster, asphalt, atomic number 16, brimstone.
- Useful contrasts: metal, nonessential element, nonindustrial sulfur.
- Usage evidence: Sulfur is used to make matches.
How to use "sulfur"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sulfur" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sulfur" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "sulfur" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sulfur" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "sulfur" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "alabaster" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "sulfur", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A chemical element with atomic number 16, having a bright yellow color and characteristic smell, used commercially in a variety of products such as insecticides, black powder, and matchsticks. uncountable, usually
"A Dungeon horrible, on all ſides round / As one great Furnace flam’d, yet from thoſe flames / No light, but rather darkneſs viſible / […] but torture without end / Still urges, and a fiery Deluge, fed / With ever-burning Sulphur unconſum’d:"
- 2 an abundant tasteless odorless multivalent nonmetallic element; best known in yellow crystals; occurs in many sulphide and sulphate minerals and even in native form (especially in volcanic regions) wordnet
- 3 A chemical element with atomic number 16, having a bright yellow color and characteristic smell, used commercially in a variety of products such as insecticides, black powder, and matchsticks.; The element symbolically associated with hellfire or damnation, or in alchemy, the fiery principle present in all things. uncountable, usually
"“She shall be blasted like a riven oak! Drowned in sulphur! Torn by whirlwinds!”"
- 4 A yellowish green colour, like that of sulfur. countable, uncountable, usually
- 5 Any of various pierid butterflies of the subfamily Coliadinae, especially the sulfur-coloured species. uncountable, usually
Verb
- 1 To treat with sulfur, or a sulfur compound, especially to preserve or to counter agricultural pests. transitive
- 2 treat with sulphur in order to preserve wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Of a yellowish green colour, like that of sulfur.
- 2 Having a characteristic sulfur-like smell, reminiscent of rotten eggs.
"On the November morning when the sulfur burps began, Derron Borders was welcoming prospective students at the graduate school where he works in New York. […] Sulfur burps appear to be a somewhat rare side effect of semaglutide, tirzepatide, and other drugs in their class, known as GLP-1 receptor agonists."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Sulfur is used to make matches."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sulfur"?
Common synonyms include: alabaster, asphalt, atomic number 16, brimstone, color, essential element.
How do you use "sulfur" in a sentence?
Sulfur is used to make matches.
How do you pronounce "sulfur"?
Pronounced /ˈsʌl.fɚ/.
Etymology
From Middle English sulphur, borrowed from Anglo-Norman sulfre, from Latin sulfur, from sulpur itself of uncertain origin. Displaced Old English swefl and largely displaced brimstone.