Search Result for "effete": 
Wordnet 3.0

ADJECTIVE (1)

1. marked by excessive self-indulgence and moral decay;
- Example: "a decadent life of excessive money and no sense of responsibility"
- Example: "a group of effete self-professed intellectuals"
[syn: decadent, effete]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Effete \Ef*fete"\, a. [L. effetus that has brought forth, exhausted; ex + fetus that has brought forth. See Fetus.] No longer capable of producing young, as an animal, or fruit, as the earth; hence, worn out with age; exhausted of energy; incapable of efficient action; no longer productive; barren; sterile. [1913 Webster] Effete results from virile efforts. --Mrs. Browning [1913 Webster] If they find the old governments effete, worn out, . . . they may seek new ones. --Burke. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

effete adj 1: marked by excessive self-indulgence and moral decay; "a decadent life of excessive money and no sense of responsibility"; "a group of effete self-professed intellectuals" [syn: decadent, effete]