Fusty

Characterized by stale, musty air; stale smelling. Often, the term describes an environment or object that has become unpleasant due to a lack of fresh air, ventilation, or use, and sometimes it suggests an association with old-fashioned, outdated ideas, attitudes, or customs. It can be applied to describe things like rooms, clothing, furniture, or even abstract concepts. Fustiness often implies a stuffiness or close air that clings and makes the surrounding environment and things appear outdated. The smell is often related to damp or stale air and mildew. It can negatively impact the atmosphere due to the unpleasant stale smell.

Fusty meaning with examples

• The old Victorian mansion, with its heavy velvet drapes and rarely opened windows, was filled with a fusty odor that clung to everything. Dust motes danced in the shafts of sunlight, illuminating the stale air. It seemed the house itself was holding its breath. The fusty atmosphere made the visit unpleasant and made you feel trapped.
• After years of storage in the damp attic, the antique books emitted a fusty smell. Their pages were yellowed and brittle, coated with a film of dust. The leather bindings, once rich and supple, felt stiff and dry. The scent of age clung to them. Opening the books filled the air with the familiar fusty smell.
• The community theater, though charming, suffered from a fusty ambiance due to a lack of renovations. The worn velvet seats absorbed the scent of decades of performances. The outdated decor and stale air made the theater feel forgotten. While the plays were entertaining, the fusty conditions were hard to ignore.
• Grandma’s vintage clothing shop had that distinct fusty smell, a blend of mothballs and forgotten perfume. The racks overflowed with clothes from another era. The air was thick with a sense of the past. Trying on the clothes had a distinct effect on the smell that filled the room, a fusty blast from the past.
• The debate club was renowned for its fusty traditions and rigid adherence to the same old arguments. The professors, the decor, and the arguments were all of a by-gone era. The club resisted new perspectives. The intellectual atmosphere, like the room itself, was undeniably fusty and resistant to change.