fusty

/ˈfʌsti/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈfʌsti/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈfə-stē/ (ame, mw)

fusty — adjective

  • fustypositive
  • fustiercomparative
  • fustiestsuperlative

1. having a stale, damp smell, like a room that has been closed up for a long time

1.形容詞C1
釋義

having a stale, damp smell, like a room that has been closed up for a long time or clothes that were put away while still wet

例句

Wren opened the attic door and a fusty smell of damp wool poured out.

predicative phrase: 'fusty smell of [noun]'

The cottage had been shut up all winter and the bedding felt fusty against Anjali's cheek.

common collocation: 'felt fusty'

同義詞
  • musty

    very close synonym; musty is more common in everyday speech

  • stale

    broader — stale can describe air, bread, or news, not just damp smells

  • stuffy

    stuffy emphasises lack of fresh air, not necessarily a damp smell

反義詞
  • fresh

    newly aired, clean-smelling

  • airy

    well-ventilated, opposite of closed and stagnant

用法筆記

Subject is usually a closed space (attic, basement, wardrobe, library) or fabric stored without airing (clothes, books, curtains). Often paired with 'smell', 'odour', 'air', or with verbs of perception ('smell fusty', 'felt fusty').

常見錯誤

❌The fresh sea breeze was fusty.
✅The air in the closed-up cottage was fusty.
💡fusty applies only to stagnant, damp-smelling air, not to fresh outdoor air.

2. holding rigid, out-of-date opinions, rules, or attitudes that seem disconnected

2.形容詞C1
釋義

holding rigid, out-of-date opinions, rules, or attitudes that seem disconnected from modern life

例句

Tariq found the club's fusty rules about jacket colours laughable in the twenty-first century.

attributive: 'fusty rules / customs / traditions'

Lien refused to join the fusty old committee that still banned women from voting on grants.

common collocation: 'fusty old [institution]'

同義詞
  • old-fashioned

    neutral; fusty adds a tone of disapproval

  • outdated

    focuses on being no longer current; fusty also implies stuffiness

  • stuffy

    stuffy emphasises social rigidity; fusty emphasises being stuck in the past

反義詞

用法筆記

Subject is usually an institution, rule, attitude, or text — not normally a person directly. Often paired with 'old' for emphasis ('fusty old club', 'fusty old rules'). Distinguish from sense 1 by context: sense 2 is about ideas, never about smells.

常見錯誤

❌My grandfather is fusty.
✅My grandfather has fusty ideas about marriage.
💡fusty describes ideas or rules, not people; describe what they think, not them.