effete

American  

[ih-feet] / ɪˈfit /

adjective

1. lacking in wholesome vigor; degenerate; decadent.

   an effete, overrefined society.

2. exhausted of vigor or energy; worn out.

   an effete political force.

   Synonyms:

   enervated

3. unable to produce; sterile.

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effete British  

/ ɪˈfiːt /

adjective

1. weak, ineffectual, or decadent as a result of overrefinement

   an effete academic

2. exhausted of vitality or strength; worn out; spent

3. (of animals or plants) no longer capable of reproduction

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Other Word Forms

• effetely adverb
• effeteness noun
• noneffete adjective
• noneffetely adverb
• noneffeteness noun
• uneffete adjective
• uneffeteness noun

Etymology

Origin of effete

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin effēta “exhausted from bearing,” equivalent to ef- “from, out of” ( ef- ) + fēta “having brought forth,” feminine past participle of lost verb; fetus

Example Sentences

Mostly that has meant pretending to be a Real American by riding horses, going hunting or driving around in a pick-up to prove they aren’t some effete city slicker.

From Salon

The picture presented to the nation and the world was of a China about to resume its rightful place as the center of the world after a brief interruption by effete Western values.

From Washington Post

Former president Donald Trump made a point of elevating his own unhealthy eating habits to be the stuff of real Americans, while consigning healthy eating to being a preoccupation of effete elites.

From Washington Post

It was full of erotic symbolism, and in some small measure, this carousel explains why these effete nobles ended up soon afterward confronting another novel mechanical contraption: the guillotine.

From Washington Post

And it improvises on decades of work on the right to stitch the words “effete” and “liberal” together, painting a whole swath of the political spectrum as a feminine affectation.

From New York Times