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 Add half a cup to your rinse cycle for softer clothes and less musty smells. —Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 12 Apr. 2025 Eliminate musty closet smells by placing containers filled with kitty litter in a corner of the closet. 7 Ways to Banish Common Household Odors for a Fresher Home 8. —Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Apr. 2025 Eliminate musty closet smells by placing containers filled with kitty litter in a corner of the closet. —Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Apr. 2025 Some of his customers swear by it for getting rid of stubborn pit stains and freshening up musty towels, too. —Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 25 Mar. 2025 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
  • Their negative stereotyped reputation seems to follow them like ageism follows older employees or sexism follows female employees.
    — Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025
  • At the time, Latinos were often cast in stereotyped roles with heavy accents and largely denied the opportunity to direct features.
    — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 17 Mar. 2025
Definition of stereotyped
Adjective
  • That means the weather was ripe for fire, and wind gusts of up to 25 miles per hour quickly whipped the fire toward inhabited areas.
    — Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 23 Apr. 2025
  • Unity Biotechnology is a leading example, but the space is still early and ripe for newcomers.
    — Abdo Riani, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Definition of ripe
Adjective
  • But people here are tired of seeing Farmington in the headlines as a town that's losing population.
    — Kirk Siegler, NPR, 24 Apr. 2025
  • And there’s kids who are tired, or crying or can’t handle it.
    — Andy Mitten, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2025
Definition of tired
Adjective
  • Female astronauts have become commonplace enough that the fact that the crew is composed entirely of women doesn’t immediately cause a sensation.
    — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 13 Apr. 2025
  • Tory Burch chose color-blocking as the preferred mode of expression and took commonplace pieces to new heights (a sequined swimsuit was the talk of the town after the label’s runway presentation).
    — Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 10 Apr. 2025
Definition of commonplace
Adjective
  • Its baleful guitar and hackneyed vocals make the average doubts shared by everyone who has ever been in love seem generic.
    — Will Dukes, Rolling Stone, 25 Apr. 2025
  • 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
Definition of hackneyed
Adjective
  • Usually, a smelly refrigerator is caused by specific foods inside it and how they're stored.
    — Halee Miller Van Ryswyk, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Apr. 2025
  • Before, the engine room was a noisy, smelly space below deck.
    — Chun-Lien Su, IEEE Spectrum, 29 July 2019
Definition of smelly

Browse Nearby Words

musts
musty
mutability
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Cite this Entry

“Musty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/musty. Accessed 1 May. 2025.

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