effete
[ ih-feet ]
/ ɪˈfit /
adjective
lacking in wholesome vigor; degenerate; decadent: an effete, overrefined society.
exhausted of vigor or energy; worn out: an effete political force.
unable to produce; sterile.
RELATED WORDS
corrupt, debased, decadent, decayed, decrepit, degenerate, dissipated, dissolute, drained, enervated, feeble, immoral, obsolete, soft, spent, washed-out, wasted, weak, declining, enfeebled
Nearby words
- efferently,
- effervesce,
- effervescence,
- effervescent,
- effervescent salt,
- effetely,
- efficacious,
- efficaciously,
- efficacity,
- efficacy
Origin of effete
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for effete
effete
/ (ɪˈfiːt) /
adjective
weak, ineffectual, or decadent as a result of overrefinementan effete academic
exhausted of vitality or strength; worn out; spent
(of animals or plants) no longer capable of reproduction
Word Origin for effete
C17: from Latin effētus having produced young, hence, exhausted by bearing, from fētus having brought forth; see fetus
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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effete
1620s, from Latin effetus (usually in fem. effeta) "exhausted, unproductive, worn out (with bearing offspring), past bearing," literally "that has given birth," from a lost verb, *efferi, from ex- "out" (see ex-) + fetus "childbearing, offspring" (see fetus). Figurative use is earliest in English; literal use is rare. Sense of "exhausted" is 1660s; that of "intellectually or morally exhausted" (1790) led to "decadent" (19c.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper