fusty

UK: /ˈfʌsti/ US: /ˈfʌsti/ ,(fus′tē)

Inflections of 'fusty' (adj):

fustier

adj comparative

fustiest

adj superlative

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

fus•ty /ˈfʌsti/   adj., -ti•er, -ti•est. 

1. stale;
   musty.
2. old-fashioned:
   fusty attitudes.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

fus•ty  (fus′tē), adj., -ti•er, -ti•est. 

1. having a stale smell;
   moldy;
   musty:
   fusty rooms that were in need of a good airing.
2. old-fashioned or out-of-date, as architecture, furnishings, or the like:
   They still live in that fusty, gingerbread house.
3. stubbornly conservative or old-fashioned;
   fogyish.

• Latin fūstis stick, pole) + -y¹
• Old French: wine cask, tree trunk (
• Middle English fusti, equivalent. to fust (noun, nominal) 1350–1400

fus′ti•ly, adv. 
fus′ti•ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. close, stuffy, oppressive; smelly, malodorous.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

fusty / ˈfʌstɪ/ adjective ( -tier, -tiest)

1. smelling of damp or mould; musty
2. old-fashioned in attitude

Etymology: 14th Century: from fust wine cask, from Old French: cask, tree trunk, from Latin fūstis cudgel, club

ˈfustily adverb

ˈfustiness noun