MUSTY Synonyms: 171 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

musty

adjective

ˈmə-stē

Definition of musty

as in stinking

having an unpleasant smell musty old gym socks

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stereotyped

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 musty star maps to ratty psychics, the movie so adores Los Angeles that Thomas Lennon’s hair stylist character is a riff on local billboard king Chaz Dean. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026 For much of the year, the Cards were outperforming their Pythagorean won-loss record by a bunch, and McGreevy’s shiny, John Tudor-like ERA hid his musty, Tudor-like strikeout rate. — Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 7 July 2026 Baking soda works by absorbing odors and neutralizing musty, acidic smells from mildew, mold, and bacteria. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 4 July 2026 Where old wet-dry vacuums can harbor a musty smell, this one’s self-cleaning and heated drying abilities has banished the issue altogether. — Nashia Baker, Architectural Digest, 25 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for musty

Recent Examples of Synonyms for musty

Adjective

America’s political landscape has become a stinking mess.

— Mary Ellen Klas, Boston Herald, 1 June 2026
Not the good, high-altitude ozone that shields us from dangerous UV light, but bad ozone, hovering right above ground level — stinking, brownish, grayish photochemical smog.

— Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026

Definition of stinking

Adjective

Despite their outer appearances and oftentimes stereotyped personalities, the ladies embrace each other’s depths and contradictions.

— Meagan Jordan, VIBE.com, 10 July 2026
This is a directed, stereotyped behavior in which the highest-resolution region of the somatosensory surface is brought to bear on the object requiring the most detailed analysis.

— Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026

Definition of stereotyped

Adjective

The story of how this whimsical, gender-fluid brand got into the fusty, dusty, and chronically behind-the-times bridal industry isn't a particularly dramatic one.

— Madeline Hirsch, InStyle, 26 June 2026
It was given a $31 million overhaul in full-on 18th-century Provençal style by the Airelles Collection in 2014, but managed to emerge classic yet not clichéd, formal but not fusty.

— Matt Ortile, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 June 2026

Definition of fusty

Adjective

The brand is winning over tired consumers who already reach for something sweet before bed by combining the comfort of a late-night treat with ingredients designed to support a better sleep routine.

— Lauren Jarvis-Gibson July 17, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 July 2026
Some get the number of dollars tied to their age (this used to be the case for Ollie and his brother, Owen, until their mom, Rebecca, got tired of them fighting over their disparate payouts) and others much more.

— Erika Janes, Curbed, 17 July 2026

Definition of tired

Adjective

Mangoes are ripe for the picking in South Florida and the avocado trees are full.

— Amaia Gavica, Miami Herald, 23 July 2026
But Lamb could be ripe for an upset, Thom Reilly, a professor and co-director of the Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy at Arizona State University, told USA TODAY.

— Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 22 July 2026

Definition of ripe

Adjective

Many of its engineering solutions would later become commonplace across both high-performance and mainstream vehicles.

— Peter Lyon, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
But private‑to‑private supply — in which a private generator sells directly to an industrial or commercial buyer using the grid, a practice that is commonplace across the West — remains rare on the continent.

— Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 22 July 2026

Definition of commonplace

Adjective

Maybe so, but think of how badly Congress had stated those hackneyed ideas.

— Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
While not exactly a feminist screed, the script grants nary a free pass to the glut of hackneyed gender conventions in the golden-age canon without at least cracking a joke.

— Naveen Kumar, Variety, 21 Apr. 2026

Definition of hackneyed

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mutability

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“Musty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/musty. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

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