Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

mustiness

[muhs-tee]

Origin

adjective, -ti·er, -ti·est.

having an odor or flavor suggestive of mold, as old buildings, long-closed rooms, or stale food.

obsolete; outdated; antiquated: musty laws.

dull; apathetic.

Origin:
1520–30; perhaps variant of moisty (Middle English; see moist, -y¹) with loss of i before s as in master

Related forms

mus·ti·ly, adverb

mus·ti·ness, noun

Synonyms
1. dank, moldy, stale.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source

Link To mustiness

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Mustiness is always a great word to know.

So is interrobang. Does it mean:

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Collins

World English Dictionary

musty (ˈmʌstɪ)

—*adj* , -tier, -tiest
1.	smelling or tasting old, stale, or mouldy
2.	old-fashioned, dull, or hackneyed: musty ideas

[C16: perhaps a variant of obsolete moisty, influenced by must³]

'mustily

—*adv*

'mustiness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

musty

1530, perhaps a variant of moisty "moist, damp" (see moist).

Word Dynamo By Dictionary.com

Searching for mustiness?
How many words do you actually know?

FIND OUT

Related Words

musty

Matching Quote

"Las Vegas has become, just as Bugsy Siegel dreamed, the American Monte Carlo—without any of the inevitable upper-class baggage of the Riviera casinos. At Monte Carlo there is still the plush mustiness of the nineteenth century noble lions.... There are still Wrong Forks, Deficient Accents, Poor Tailoring, Gauche Displays, Nouveau Richness, Cultural Aridity—concepts unknown in Las Vegas. For the grand debut of Monte Carlo as a resort in 1879 the architect Charles Garnier designed an opera house for the Place du Casino; and Sarah Bernhardt read a symbolic poem. For the debut of Las Vegas as a resort in 1946 Bugsy Siegel hired Abbot and Costello, and there, in a way, you have it all."

-Tom Wolfe

Partners:Word Bloglines Citysearch The Daily Beast Ask Answers Ask Kids Life123 Sendori Thesaurus

About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help

mustiness

mus·ty