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musky

musky

9 5.5
A strong sweet smell that reminds you of an animal's scent
  • adjective
  • /ˈmʌski/
translation icon : almizclado
  • This is the Narciso Rodriguez Fleur Musk and this smells pretty much as you would imagine, like a musky, florally scent.
  • musky scent
  • musky smell
  • musky odor

In the winter, I wear like really sweet, kind of heavy, musky, like warm smells.

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Examples

  • When Angela left the room, a scent of musky jasmine remained.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Moments later, the boy walked past her, and the musky scent of him made her weak for an instant.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • It's so musky and I thought maybe it would wash out of the shower and be OK.

  • In the winter, I wear like really sweet, kind of heavy, musky, like warm smells.

  • Smells so good and musky and like sexy but still warm.

  • It's like a sweet musky tobacco and it smells so good.

  • The smell we made while steaming out was musky and familiar.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • His pleasant musky smell mingled with the harsh scent of linen.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Whenever I missed Mum during the bleak nights at school, I could conjure up her warm, musky fragrance.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • The old library was filled with a musky scent that reminded her of ancient books.

Synonyms

aromatic
vsmusky
12 4.1

Having a strong, pleasant smell like spices or flowers

is sweeter and animal-like rather than generally pleasant or distinctive
musk-scented
vsmusky
1 6.2

A warm, sweet smell like musk often used in perfumes

is the same scent but described with sweet and animal-like detail
musky-scented
vsmusky
5.8

A strong, warm, slightly sweet smell often used in perfumes

is sweeter and more clearly animal like than the plain smell label
civetlike
vsmusky
8.8

A strong musky animal smell like the scent of a civet used in perfumes

is sweeter and more general rather than tied to that specific source
strong-scented
vsmusky
3.7

Having a very strong smell that you notice easily

is defined by a sweet animal quality not merely intensity

Antonyms

11 3.0

Not having any smell

Compounds

A strong, warm, slightly sweet smell often used in perfumes

How Musky

overpowering
18 4.6
pungent
18 4.8
musky
9 5.5
scented
13 2.3
mild
107 1.0
odorless
  • US
11 3.0

Surface Forms

musky positive
muskier comparative
muskiest superlative

Morphology

musky = musk (transparent) = musk + y

Direct adjectival formation from 'musk' with '-y' meaning 'having the quality or smell of musk', which is immediately inferable by learners.

Etymology

Musky comes from musk, the name for a rich, sweet animal scent taken from a small scent pouch of the musk deer in Asia and first named in Persian and Sanskrit. So, to call something musky is to say it has that deep, sweet, slightly animal smell like the original 'musk'.