effete
AdjectiveUS[eh-feet]/ɛˈfit/2 syllables
Open English WordNet
Adjective (2)
- affected, overrefined, and effeminate“the young man spoke in effete, accented English”Opposite unrefinedSimilar refined
- deprived of vigor and the ability to be effective“fundamentalism has flowered because it has concluded that liberalism is effete, ineffectual and impoverished”Opposite potentSimilar impotent
Word of the day · Nov 9About this word
inexorableadjective
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Ef·fete′ adjective
Origin: 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.
Effete results from virile efforts.— Eliz. Barrett Browning
If they find the old governments effete, worn out,... they may seek new ones.— Edmund Burke
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54