1.
[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]