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View synonyms for effete

effete

[ ih-feet ]

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.


effete

/ 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
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • efˈfetely, adverb
  • efˈfeteness, noun
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Other Words From

  • ef·fetely adverb
  • ef·feteness noun
  • nonef·fete adjective
  • nonef·fetely adverb
  • nonef·feteness noun
  • unef·fete adjective
  • unef·feteness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of effete1

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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of effete1

C17: from Latin effētus having produced young, hence, exhausted by bearing, from fētus having brought forth; see fetus
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Example Sentences

It’s in his cocky but effete delivery, the same vocal quality I heard when theater queens debated who was the superior Mame at West Village gay bars.

“I’ll go after him for being ‘this effete knower of arcane knowledge, who knows little tidbits that no one would care about.’

Perfetti gives him an effete contemporaneity, but the character needs new lines more than a new look.

Mr. Zeman, a rambunctious, old-school politician with a knack for connecting with ordinary people, delights in offending effete liberal sensibilities and conventional wisdom.

Funny, frail, effete, Bettany’s Warhol is as meticulously impersonal as his art, and my goodness he whines.

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