1
as in stinking
having an unpleasant smell
musty old gym socks
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of musty
The air was thick with the elephants’ musty smell, and low-frequency rumbles rolled like thunder across the gale.
—
Chris Schalkx, AFAR Media, 20 Aug. 2025
What could be a musty museum piece in some hands is instead an involving trip in the theatrical time machine, propelled by powerful performances and transporting technical choices.
—Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 18 Aug. 2025
The shop will look for common indicators of flood damage such as damp and musty odors, carpet and upholstery that has been recently cleaned or replaced, dirt and dried mud under the dash, in the engine compartment, and inside the trunk.
—Rick Barrett, jsonline.com, 13 Aug. 2025
At the program’s outset, Felt tried to help the kids’ understanding by offering some musty statistics.
—Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for musty
Chris Schalkx, AFAR Media, 20 Aug. 2025
What could be a musty museum piece in some hands is instead an involving trip in the theatrical time machine, propelled by powerful performances and transporting technical choices.
—Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 18 Aug. 2025
The shop will look for common indicators of flood damage such as damp and musty odors, carpet and upholstery that has been recently cleaned or replaced, dirt and dried mud under the dash, in the engine compartment, and inside the trunk.
—Rick Barrett, jsonline.com, 13 Aug. 2025
At the program’s outset, Felt tried to help the kids’ understanding by offering some musty statistics.
—Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for musty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for musty
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
-
Saint-Tropez’s Hotel Byblos teamed up with Globe-Trotter to make a suitcase, while Le Bristol in Paris created a highly wearable capsule collection with Sporty & Rich aimed at injecting some youthful joie de vivre into the sometimes fusty five-star hotel.—
Mark Ellwood,
Robb Report,
19 July 2025
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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
Adjective
-
Several leaders described the pressure of being both highly visible and easily stereotyped.—
Benjamin Laker,
Forbes.com,
13 May 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
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
-
Susan has lifted us up for 50 years; and her arms have not grown tired.—
Scott Simon,
NPR,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Discard the tired-looking center and separate clumps from the outer edges by hand or use a sharp knife or pruning saw.—
Rita Pelczar,
Better Homes & Gardens,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Over time, as refrigerators became commonplace, butter dishes slipped into the background.—
Elizabeth Fogarty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
8 Sep. 2025
-
The recent experiment by Vodafone comes as AI influencers become more commonplace online.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
An alkaline compound, baking soda is a non-toxic cleaner with a coarseness that works wonders for scrubbing grime, removing difficult stains, and deodorizing stinky odors.—
Lauren David,
Southern Living,
9 Sep. 2025
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This $8 set comes with four zippered pouches that can separate dirty, wet, or stinky shoes from the rest of your belongings.—
Amelia McBride,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Trauma is not a hackneyed literary trope in the work of Miriam Toews.—
Lorrie Moore,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Sep. 2025
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Similarly, the billionaire-villain forgery subplot and the insertion of romance into team dynamics came across as forced, hackneyed and unnecessary.—
Karl Moore,
Forbes.com,
3 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Musty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/musty. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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