FROWSTY Synonyms: 57 Similar and Opposite Words

frowsty

adjective

ˈfrau̇-stē

Definition of frowsty

chiefly British

as in stinking

having an unpleasant smell she wrote her first novel while living in a frowsty, mold-ridden flat

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for frowsty

Adjective

For this argument Thomasine was jailed—stuffed into a damp, stinking, deadly stone cell crawling with rats and lice—to force her to change her beliefs.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
America’s political landscape has become a stinking mess.

— Mary Ellen Klas, Boston Herald, 1 June 2026

Definition of stinking

Adjective

This season, bold knits and unexpected color pairings are ripe for the picking, courtesy of Tory Burch.

— Ciarra Lorren Zatorski, Vogue, 17 Oct. 2026
Sense and Sensibility Sense and Sensibility was already ably adapted by Ang Lee and Emma Thompson, but Jane Austen’s work is ripe to return to over and over again.

— Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of ripe

Adjective

Lenker, in plaid, rubs her eyes; James Krivchenia leans forward, sparky and alert; Meek, outdoors in the Topanga sunshine, wears cycling glasses and a frowzy hat.

— Emma Madden, Pitchfork, 4 Sep. 2025
Before the current renovation of the franchised hotels, the rooms looked as if they were stuck in a fussy, frowsy 1980s floral rut.

— BostonGlobe.com, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Oct. 2019

Definition of frowsy

Adjective

However, the Mariners play in the AL West, a fetid swamp of baseball disappointment.

— Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
The Lineage warehouse fire, which erupted a mile away nearly two months ago, still blankets the church every morning with the fetid stench of millions of pounds of rotting food that have yet to be trucked away.

— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2026

Definition of fetid

Adjective

There are several different subtypes of New York City Restaurant, from the humble old-timers (Katz’s, Nom Wah) to the temples of filthy lucre (Bemelmans, Rao’s).

— Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
The invention’s intent was to cut down on distracted driving — in addition to the frustration of digging around under filthy car seats.

— Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of filthy

Adjective

Mark Birley was a visionary who realized that the younger generation was becoming prosperous but didn’t want to sit in fusty rooms smoking cigars.

— Mark Cecil, Robb Report, 10 Oct. 2026
After its electrifying premiere, there were quickly reports that A24 is focused on a Best Picture campaign for the film in large part because the Academy’s fusty Documentary Branch may opt not to nominate it for Best Documentary Feature.

— Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of fusty

Adjective

The bodies of Machado and her daughters were discovered days later after a neighbor noticed a foul odor coming from the home.

— CBS Miami Team, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
Caminero pulled Smith’s first-pitch splitter off the left-field foul pole for a two-run homer that gave the Rays a 5-1 lead.

— ABC News, ABC News, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of foul

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.

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“Frowsty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frowsty. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of frowsty

adjective

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