Effete

/ɪˈfiːt/ · adjective

Meaning

(obsolete, of substances, quantities etc) exhausted, spent, worn-out..

Definitions by Sense

1. (obsolete, of substances, quantities etc) exhausted, spent, worn-out.
2. Lacking strength or vitality; feeble, powerless, impotent.
3. Decadent, weak through self-indulgence.
4. (of a person) Affected, overrefined.

Example Sentences

Nature is not effœte, as he saith, or so lavish, to bestow all her gifts upon an age, but hath reserved some for posterity, to shew her power, that she is still the same, and not old or consumed.

Amid the effete monarchies and princedoms of feudal Europe, morally and materially exhausted by the Thirty Years' War, the only hope of resistance to France lay in the little Republic of merchants, Holland.

They used rock'n'roll as a weapon against itself. With all instruments but guitar, bass, drums, and voice written off as effete, as elitist accoutrements of a professionalist cult of technique, it was music best suited to anger and frustration, […]

A spirit of national masochism prevails, encouraged by an effete core of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals (Spiro Agnew, October 1969)

Most writers merely produce effete works on paper, you might say, but Kerouac went and wrestled with the tree itself.

For the President, the EU is an essentially effete project – a civilian power that likes to see itself as human rights based and collegiate, but with no hard power of its own.

In fact, one obvious project of the MLF […] is to counter the idea that lobster is unusually luxe or unhealthy, suitable only for effete palates or the occasional blow-the-diet treat.

The Port Washington players all wear matching socks and shorts and tucked-in shirts. They look sharp but effete, a mannequinish aspect to them.

Synonyms for effete

Antonyms for effete

Related Words

Word Forms

• more effete
• most effete
• effœte

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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