musty

adjective

ˈmə-stē How to pronounce musty (audio)
Definition of mustynext
1
as in stinking
having an unpleasant smell musty old gym socks

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cliche
used or heard so often as to be dull the musty prose of writers who use the same expressions over and over

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word musty distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of musty are fetid, fusty, malodorous, noisome, putrid, rank, and stinking. While all these words mean "bad-smelling," fusty and musty suggest lack of fresh air and sunlight, fusty also implying prolonged uncleanliness, musty stressing the effects of dampness, mildew, or age.

a fusty attic
the musty odor of a damp cellar

When is it sensible to use malodorous instead of musty?

The synonyms malodorous and musty are sometimes interchangeable, but malodorous may range from the unpleasant to the strongly offensive.

malodorous fertilizers

When would noisome be a good substitute for musty?

While in some cases nearly identical to musty, noisome adds a suggestion of being harmful or unwholesome as well as offensive.

a stagnant, noisome sewer

In what contexts can putrid take the place of musty?

The words putrid and musty are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, putrid implies particularly the sickening odor of decaying organic matter.

the putrid smell of rotting fish

When can rank be used instead of musty?

Although the words rank and musty have much in common, rank suggests a strong unpleasant smell.

rank cigar smoke

How do stinking and fetid relate to one another, in the sense of musty?

Both stinking and fetid suggest the foul or disgusting.

prisoners were held in stinking cells
the fetid odor of skunk cabbage

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of musty From 120 beds in musty old quarters to 350 in new digs, those dorms have also come of age. — Joe Davidson, Sacramento Bee, 14 Feb. 2025 Keep reading to find out what's causing that musty smell in your closet. — Rabekah Henderson, Southern Living, 8 Feb. 2025 Professional darts has transformed over the last two decades, largely guided by Hearn, from a pastime practiced in musty pubs by middle-aged men to an international phenomenon. — Claire Moses, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2025 Most people old enough to remember MGAs, MGBs, MG Midgets, and, in rarer cases, the cycle-fender T-Series that started it all—featured in Two for the Road, with Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn—have relegated the storied marque to the musty garage of fading memory. — Jamie Kitman, airmail.news, 14 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for musty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for musty
  1. stinking
  2. fusty
  3. stereotyped
  4. ripe
  5. tired
  6. commonplace
  7. hackneyed
  8. smelly
Adjective
  • This is about a team with a top-10 payroll whose GM committed too stinking much of it to dogs that can’t, or won’t, pull the sled.
    — Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 22 Dec. 2019
  • Muttaiah said the man inside the stinking manhole was working without any safety equipment — no gloves, no shoes, no supplemental oxygen.
    — Joanna Slater, Washington Post, 16 Dec. 2019
Definition of stinking
Adjective
  • The steel frame is easy to wipe down, and the open design keeps it from trapping fusty odors.
    — Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 4 Mar. 2025
  • Paradoxically, the most lucrative magazine today is likely the Costco Connection, which emerges monthly from the fusty and secretive Kirkland, WA, marketing empire.
    — Peter Bart, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2025
Definition of fusty
Adjective
  • Tragedies can be examined by those outside of its sphere of destruction, but the groundswell of feeling from Mexican viewers and critics is that there was little or no care taken to understand the cultural grief beyond stereotyped spectacle.
    — Lucy Ford, TIME, 24 Jan. 2025
  • Founded by artists who grew up in Maryvale, Salcido said the purpose of Labor is to be the bridge that shows the artistic capacity and potential of Maryvale because the neighborhood is too often stereotyped, underrepresented and ignored.
    — David Ulloa Jr, The Arizona Republic, 6 Dec. 2024
Definition of stereotyped
Adjective
  • Red flag warnings are issued by the National Weather Service when conditions are ripe for fires.
    — JIM VERTUNO, TIME, 20 Mar. 2025
  • There is a certain anime cast to his round face and thick eyelashes, which perhaps are ripe for infantilizing caricature.
    — Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2025
Definition of ripe
Adjective
  • Absorb punches until Trump tires himself out or, more likely, the American people get tired of all the chaos and disruption.
    — Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 20 Mar. 2025
  • Selections from the trio’s synth-heavy mid-Eighties years sound sturdier than ever within the grand sweep of Rush 50, defying the tired rock-purist take that the trio strayed too far during this period.
    — Hank Shteamer, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2025
Definition of tired
Adjective
  • Robot backflips are becoming commonplace, but a front flip is significantly more difficult than a backflip, as any gymnast can attest.
    — Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report, Fox News, 8 Mar. 2025
  • Committee reassignments are commonplace in the Legislature, and politics can seep in.
    — Anabel Sosa, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2025
Definition of commonplace
Adjective
  • The movie’s a little more hackneyed and obvious now, but its central idea is still an undeniably creepy one: possessed children with pitchforks.
    — Tim Grierson, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
  • Which is a nauseatingly hackneyed and clichéd — not to mention stupefyingly reductive — type of statement to make about any kind of art or entertainment, of course.
    — Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Definition of hackneyed
Adjective
  • If your plant’s roots or stems are mushy and smelly, your plant may be affected by root rot.
    — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Dec. 2024
  • Before Brummell, the aristocracy dressed in rich, smelly materials; after, styles were adapted from military uniforms—think of the broad shoulders of a British pinstripe suit, for example.
    — Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025
Definition of smelly

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“Musty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/musty. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

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