fusty

American  

[fuhs-tee] / ˈfʌs ti /

adjective

fustier, fustiest

1. having a stale smell; moldy; musty.

   fusty rooms that were in need of a good airing.

   Synonyms:

   malodorous, smelly, oppressive, stuffy, close

2. old-fashioned or out-of-date, as architecture, furnishings, or the like.

   They still live in that fusty, gingerbread house.

3. stubbornly conservative or old-fashioned; fogyish.

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fusty British  

/ ˈfʌstɪ /

adjective

1. smelling of damp or mould; musty

2. old-fashioned in attitude

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Other Word Forms

• fustily adverb
• fustiness noun

Etymology

Origin of fusty

1350–1400; Middle English fusti, equivalent to fust (noun) < Old French: wine cask, tree trunk (< Latin fūstis stick, pole) + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Even in fusty old New England, this sounds like not the kind of thing that would generate much outrage.

From The Wall Street Journal

Recounting an oversight hearing on Capitol Hill, Gluesenkamp Perez describes looking over the witnesses with their fusty manner and fancy pedigrees and wondering if any had ever turned a wrench.

From Los Angeles Times

In the 1990s, mayor Richard Riordan raised private millions to spruce up the fusty place to make it fit for official receptions and events.

From Los Angeles Times

That breach of cricketing etiquette, in an era of fusty formality, was sufficient to slightly irk Bradman as he walked from his crease.

From BBC

But the stupid island was where he was going to spend this night, at least, in soiled clothes that were beginning to smell fusty.

From Literature