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 old-fashioned or out-of-date, as architecture, furnishings, or the like.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

But behind the powdered-wig posturing and fusty adherence to tradition lies his radical idea: Progress is impossible without a past.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

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 • Oct. 27, 2024

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 • Jun. 1, 2024

When the LIV tour was launched in 2021, bankrolled by the sovereign wealth fund, it telegraphed a sharp break from golf’s fusty traditionalism — and instantly split the world of men’s professional golf.

From New York Times • Jun. 7, 2023

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 "Abel's Island" by William Steig