fusty
Americanadjective
-
having a stale smell; moldy; musty.
fusty rooms that were in need of a good airing.
- Synonyms:
- malodorous, smelly, oppressive, stuffy, close
-
old-fashioned or out-of-date, as architecture, furnishings, or the like.
They still live in that fusty, gingerbread house.
-
stubbornly conservative or old-fashioned; fogyish.
adjective
-
smelling of damp or mould; musty
-
old-fashioned in attitude
Other Word Forms
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
Explanation
Use the adjective fusty to describe something that's covered with dust and smells a little old and musty. Your grandmother's attic is probably full of fusty knickknacks. Fusty is perfect for describing anything from a slightly mildewed quilt at the back of your closet to your brother's camping gear, forgotten in the trunk of his car for months and smelling a little ripe. You can also use it to talk about an antique idea or attitude, like your uncle's fusty, outdated opinions on the roles of men and women. The Old French root of fusty is fusté, "tasting or smelling of the cask," from fuist, "wine cask."
Vocabulary lists containing fusty
Less Common Five-letter Words for Wordle
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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
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David Copperfield
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fusty authorities denied him the valedictorian's podium, when he graduated in 1950, for such capers as locking up a teacher in a supply closet.
From Time Magazine Archive
Fusty, scraggle-bearded Brother Jan Pilsudski has been installed as a sort of mascot Minister of War.
From Time Magazine Archive
Fusty old Wanamaker's stayed on though there were sometimes more clerks than customers in the store.
From Time Magazine Archive
Fusty Varnum, a little country schoolmaster of a man, hard-drinking Stirling and a buckskinned bravo named Lieutenant Colonel Lucifer Tench all agree that their cause is lost.
From Time Magazine Archive
When I learnt from whom it came I forgave you all the blame, Musty Christopher; I could not forgive the praise, Fusty Christopher.'—p.
From Early Reviews of English Poets by Haney, John Louis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
