musty

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: mus=ty

CIDE DICTIONARY

musty, a. [From L. mustum must; or perh. fr. E. moist. Cf. Must, n., Moist.].

•  Having the rank, pungent, offensive odor and taste which substances of organic origin acquire during warm, moist weather; foul or sour and fetid; moldy; as, musty corn; musty books.  Harvey.  [1913 Webster]
•  Spoiled by age; rank; stale.  [1913 Webster]

  "The proverb is somewhat musty."  [1913 Webster]
•  Dull; heavy; spiritless.  Addison.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

musty, adj. (mustier, mustiest)
1 mouldy.
2 of a mouldy or stale smell or taste.
3 stale, antiquated (musty old books).

Derivative

mustily adv. mustiness n.

Etymology

perh. alt. f. moisty (MOIST) by assoc. with MUST(2)

THESAURUS

musty

ancient, antediluvian, antiquated, archaic, back-number, bad, bad-smelling, banal, bewhiskered, blasted, blighted, blown, bromidic, burning, bygone, cliched, common, commonplace, corny, crumbling, cut-and-dried, damp, decayed, despoiled, dilapidated, dirty, dusty, estral, estrous, estrual, fade, familiar, fecal, fetid, filthy, flyblown, foul, frowsty, frowsy, frowy, frowzy, fulsome, funky, fusty, gamy, gone to seed, graveolent, hackney, hackneyed, high, hoary, hot, ill-smelling, in heat, in must, in rut, maggoty, malodorous, mephitic, miasmal, miasmic, mildewed, mildewy, moldering, moldy, moss-grown, moth-eaten, mouldy, must, nidorous, noisome, noxious, obsolete, odorous, offensive, old hat, old-fashioned, olid, out of date, passe, platitudinous, putrid, rancid, rank, ravaged, reasty, reasy, reechy, reeking, reeky, repulsive, rotten, ruined, ruinous, rusty, rutting, ruttish, rutty, set, shopworn, smellful, smelling, smelly, smutted, smutty, sour, spoilt, squalid, square, stale, stenchy, stereotyped, stinking, stock, strong, stuffy, sulfurous, threadbare, time-scarred, timeworn, tired, trite, truistic, unoriginal, vile, warmed-over, weevily, well-known, well-worn, worm-eaten, wormy, worn, worn out, worn thin

ROGET THESAURUS

musty

Uncleanness

N uncleanness, impurity, immundity, immundicity, impurity, defilement, contamination, defoedation, soilure, soiliness, abomination, leaven, taint, tainture, fetor, decay, putrescence, putrefaction, corruption, mold, must, mildew, dry rot, mucor, rubigo, slovenry, slovenliness, squalor, dowdy, drab, slut, malkin, slattern, sloven, slammerkin, slammock, slummock, scrub, draggle-tail, mudlark, dust-man, sweep, beast, dirt, filth, soil, slop, dust, cobweb, flue, smoke, soot, smudge, smut, grit, grime, raff, sossle, sozzle, sordes, dregs, grounds, lees, argol, sediment, settlement heeltap, dross, drossiness, mother, precipitate, scoriae, ashes, cinders, recrement, slag, scum, froth, hogwash, ditchwater, dishwater, bilgewater, rinsings, cheeseparings, sweepings, offscourings, outscourings, off scum, caput mortuum, residuum, sprue, fecula, clinker, draff, scurf, scurfiness, exuviae, morphea, fur, furfur, dandruff, tartar, riffraff, vermin, louse, flea, bug, chinch, mud, mire, quagmire, alluvium, silt, sludge, slime, slush, slosh, sposh, spawn, offal, gurry, lientery, garbage, carrion, excreta, slough, peccant humor, pus, matter, suppuration, lienteria, faeces, feces, excrement, ordure, dung, crap, shit, sewage, sewerage, muck, coprolite, guano, manure, compost, dunghill, colluvies, mixen, midden, bog, laystall, sink, privy, jakes, toilet, john, head, cess, cesspool, sump, sough, cloaca, latrines, drain, sewer, common sewer, Cloacina, dust hole, sty, pigsty, lair, den, Augean stable, sink of corruption, slum, rookery, dirty, filthy, grimy, unclean, impure, soiled, not to be handled with kid gloves, dusty, snuffy, smutty, sooty, smoky, thick, turbid, dreggy, slimy, mussy, slovenly, untidy, messy, uncleanly, unkempt, sluttish, dowdy, draggle-tailed, uncombed, unscoured, unswept, unwiped, unwashed, unstrained, unpurified, squalid, lutose, slammocky, slummocky, sozzly, nasty, coarse, foul, offensive, abominable, beastly, reeky, reechy, fetid, decayed, moldy, musty, mildewed, rusty, moth-eaten, mucid, rancid, weak, bad, gone bad, etercoral, lentiginous, touched, fusty, effete, reasty, rotten, corrupt, tainted, high, flyblown, maggoty, putrid, putrefactive, putrescent, putrefied, saprogenic, saprogenous, purulent, carious, peccant, fecal, feculent, stercoraceous, excrementitious, scurfy, scurvy, impetiginous, gory, bloody, rotting, rotten as a pear, rotten as cheese, crapulous, gross, fimetarious, fimicolous, they that touch pitch will be defiled.

Impurity

N impurity, uncleanness, immodesty, grossness, indelicacy, indecency, impudicity, obscenity, ribaldry, Fescennine, smut, bawdry, double entente, equivoque, concupiscence, lust, carnality, flesh, salacity, pruriency, lechery, lasciviency, lubricity, Sadism, sapphism, incontinence, intrigue, faux pas, amour, amourette, gallantry, debauchery, libertinish, libertinage, fornication, liaison, wenching, venery, dissipation, seduction, defloration, defilement, abuse, violation, rape, incest, prostitution, social evil, harlotry, stupration, whoredom, concubinage, cuckoldom, adultery, advoutry, crim, con, free love, seraglio, harem, brothel, bagnio, stew, bawdyhouse, cat house, lupanar, house of ill fame, bordel, bordello, impure, unclean, not to be mentioned to ears polite, immodest, shameless, indecorous, indelicate, indecent, Fescennine, loose, risque, coarse, gross, broad, free, equivocal, smutty, fulsome, ribald, obscene, bawdy, pornographic, concupiscent, prurient, lickerish, rampant, lustful, carnal, carnal-minded, lewd, lascivious, lecherous, libidinous, erotic, ruttish, salacious, Paphian, voluptuous, goatish, must, musty, unchaste, light, wanton, licentious, debauched, dissolute, of loose character, of easy virtue, frail, gay, riggish, incontinent, meretricious, rakish, gallant, dissipated, no better than she should be, on the town, on the streets, on the pave, on the loose, adulterous, incestuous, bestial.

Fetor

N fetor, bad, smell, bad odor, stench, stink, foul odor, malodor, empyreuma, mustiness, rancidity, foulness, stoat, polecat, skunk, assafoetida, fungus, garlic, stinkpot, fitchet, fitchew, fourmart, peccary, acridity, fetid, strong-smelling, high, bad, strong, fulsome, offensive, noisome, rank, rancid, reasty, tainted, musty, fusty, frouzy, olid, olidous, nidorous, smelling, stinking, putrid, suffocating, mephitic, empyreumatic.