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 old-fashioned or out-of-date, as architecture, furnishings, or the like.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

I hadn’t expected him to be so fusty.

From Literature

Venezi’s supporters say the 35-year-old, who once appeared in Italian shampoo commercials, has the potential to open up the fusty world of opera to a whole new audience.

From The Wall Street Journal

Pilates, which combines stretching and body weight conditioning exercises, has, for some, a fusty image - a gentle and genteel workout for those of advancing years.

From BBC

The policing techniques satirized in the film may be futuristic, but its structure is fusty.

From The Wall Street Journal

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