fusty

[ fuhs-tee ]

/ ˈfʌs ti /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fusty ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, fus·ti·er, fus·ti·est.

having a stale smell; moldy; musty: fusty rooms that were in need of a good airing.

old-fashioned or out-of-date, as architecture, furnishings, or the like: They still live in that fusty, gingerbread house.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.

Nearby words

fustet, fustian, fustic, fustigate, fustinella, fusty, fusula, fusuma, fut., futabatei, futcher's line

Origin of fusty

1350–1400; Middle English fusti, equivalent to fust (noun) < Old French: wine cask, tree trunk (< Latin fūstis stick, pole) + -y¹

SYNONYMS FOR fusty

1 close, stuffy, oppressive; smelly, malodorous.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fusty ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

fus·ti·ly, adverbfus·ti·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fusty

Any chance that fusty old uniform can get revamped into something more appropriately Batman-esque for the occasion?
Joe Biden on WikiLeaks Damage and More Sunday Talk|The Daily Beast Video|December 19, 2010|DAILY BEAST
I know, I know—I feel like a fusty old crank merely posing the question.
Bonfire of the Inanities|Christopher Buckley|March 22, 2009|DAILY BEAST
But this was the heart of summer, and there was no need to go into the musty, fusty old house.
Girls of the Forest|L. T. Meade
It seems so funny not to go to it, instead of moping in these fusty lodgings.
The Rough Road|William John Locke

At the top of the stair I was pushed into a dark, fusty room, and guided to a low, fusty sofa or bed.
Nights in London|Thomas Burke
In the damp climate of western Carolina such an interior is fusty, or even wet.
Our Southern Highlanders|Horace Kephart
Perhaps you could go from the musty, fusty lodgings to some fresher place with this to help you.
The School Queens|L. T. Meade

British Dictionary definitions for fusty

fusty

/ (ˈfʌstɪ) /

adjective -tier or -tiest

smelling of damp or mould; musty

old-fashioned in attitude

Derived Forms

fustily, adverbfustiness, noun

Word Origin for fusty

C14: from fust wine cask, from Old French: cask, tree trunk, from Latin fūstis cudgel, club

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012