as in mustiness
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Recent Examples of staleness
The smart shopper will already note signs of staleness and mold in the old practice of a singer in stiff white tie and tails or gaudy gown, standing, arm propped on piano, of the second banana accompanist.
—
Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2026
Consider this a magical opportunity to escape the staleness of fall.
—Lisa Stardust, Vogue, 29 Dec. 2025
Coach Billy Napier’s team blended play-calling staleness, horrendous clock management, defensive containment issues and overall immaturity.
—Noah White, Miami Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2026
Consider this a magical opportunity to escape the staleness of fall.
—Lisa Stardust, Vogue, 29 Dec. 2025
Coach Billy Napier’s team blended play-calling staleness, horrendous clock management, defensive containment issues and overall immaturity.
—Noah White, Miami Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for staleness
Noun
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With their high linen content, the sheets exuded no mustiness, only the faint sweet smell of aged paper.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
-
The film, which screenwriter Rowan Joffé adapted from a 2014 novel of the same name by Lawrence Osborne, seems aware of the orientalist mustiness of this premise without being compelled to subvert it in any meaningful way.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Here, mismatched buildings sprawl under the heavy stench of diesel and rising humidity.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Mar. 2026
-
In the meantime, the stench around the Canucks will linger.—
Thomas Drance,
New York Times,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Since their 2024 Tiny Desk Concert went viral, the Argentine musicians have channeled their chaotic energy into a heady mix of Latin trap, jazz, funk, and tropical rhythms.—
Maria Nenet Barrios,
Pitchfork,
19 Mar. 2026
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This brief funk is broken when Clay comes home to find his mother — who, like everyone else in their backwoods local area, despises their stunts — watching an old movie on TV.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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On one side, a satanic figure named Randall Flagg who gathers his forces of badness to Las Vegas; on the other, the good guys, led by 108-year-old Mother Abigail in, of all places, Boulder.—
Barbara Ellis,
Denver Post,
15 Jan. 2026
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The show premiered over Thanksgiving weekend, when people were tired and full and bored (and probably also horny), and countered our world’s unceasing badness with its world’s buoyant sweetness.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Does your laundry room smell like mildew or reek of stinky socks?—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
3 Mar. 2026
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Their dreadful February reeks of a team that grew desperate to reap the benefits of a dying method, at least somewhat relinquishing its old, stubborn ways.—
Joel Lorenzi,
New York Times,
2 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Staleness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/staleness. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
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