Musty
If something smells
musty that means it’s probably been sitting in a damp corner without any air for a little too long.
Musty smells take time to develop: they’re caused by dampness and mold, and signal some amount of decay. You might also call the smell of a musty old basement
rank or
foul. But people also use
musty to insult someone’s writing, or their ideas. A musty speech wouldn’t just be old-fashioned, it would be old in a bad way: rotten and boring.
Definitions of musty
- adjective
covered with or smelling of mold
synonyms:,
lacking freshness, palatability, or showing deterioration from age
- adjective
stale and unclean smelling
synonyms:, , , , ,
having an unpleasant smell
.