Synonym Chooser

How is the word fusty distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of fusty are fetid, malodorous, musty, 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 can malodorous be used instead of fusty?

While the synonyms malodorous and fusty are close in meaning, malodorous may range from the unpleasant to the strongly offensive.

malodorous fertilizers

Where would noisome be a reasonable alternative to fusty?

The meanings of noisome and fusty largely overlap; however, noisome adds a suggestion of being harmful or unwholesome as well as offensive.

a stagnant, noisome sewer

When is it sensible to use putrid instead of fusty?

The synonyms putrid and fusty are sometimes interchangeable, but putrid implies particularly the sickening odor of decaying organic matter.

the putrid smell of rotting fish

When would rank be a good substitute for fusty?

In some situations, the words rank and fusty are roughly equivalent. However, rank suggests a strong unpleasant smell.

rank cigar smoke

How are the words stinking and fetid related as synonyms of fusty?

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 fusty While Reichardt never pushes for comedy, these fusty parental exchanges are often very funny, as are J.B.’s bad-parenting episodes with the boys. David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 23 May 2025 Ignoring the conventions of academic portraiture, a genre associated with pale men standing in front of burgundy drapes, Sherald liberated America’s first lady from the fusty, cigar-brown rooms of the past. Deborah Solomon, New York Times, 15 May 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for fusty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fusty
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
Adjective
  • As The Athletic discovered on a recent stroll along the waterfront from the city centre, there’s certainly plenty of land ripe for development.
    Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025
  • The moment is ripe for Maduro's fall, and meaningful retaliation is unlikely.
    Kristina Foltz, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • New homes command higher prices with their quartz countertops, brand-new appliances, fresh paint, and none of the carpet stains or musty smells that can haunt a resale.
    Brandon Kochkodin, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 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, 22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Once cool, pour it into a spray bottle and lightly mist the smelly surfaces.
    Cody Godwin, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2025
  • Your smelly trash could also attract ants and other pests.
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Midsummer is usually when sargassum, the floating seaweed that often washes up in malodorous piles on Florida beaches, starts to wane.
    Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Callery pear and Bradford pear trees are considered malodorous, according to the Spruce, a home and garden site.
    Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
Adjective
  • The cards’ robust stainless-steel construction can withstand extreme handling like drops, foul weather and almost any other element that happens to come along.
    Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Their journey takes a detour when her mom turns out to be a foul-mouthed truck driver, launching the trio into a cross-country odyssey filled with eccentric encounters, outrageous mishaps, and unexpected emotional revelations.
    Matt Grobar, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Taipei blends incense with cutting-edge innovation—crowned by the soaring spire of Taipei 101 and grounded in night markets where stinky tofu and bubble tea perfume the air.
    Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
  • The amount of the often-stinky seaweed that washes up on beaches has spiked tremendously in the last dozen years, bringing frustration to South Florida beachgoers and causing real economic damage in the Caribbean.
    Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Away from a filthy Superdome and Convention Center where they had been holed up for days.
    Suzette Hackney, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Alexander pulled out a baby-blue melodica to lay down a filthy ska rhythm for his band.
    Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Fusty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fusty. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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