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old-fashioned or out-of-date, as architecture, furnishings, or the like.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 You can also use it to talk about an antique idea or attitude, like your uncle's fusty, outdated opinions on the roles of men and women.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
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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
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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.
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
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
There was the peculiar name, which conjured visions of a fusty baron.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 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
I hadn’t expected him to be so fusty.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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.
