Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Characterized by extreme refinement or self-indulgence, often to the point of unworldiness or decadence:
  • adjective Having or reflecting an attitude of social superiority; pretentious or snobbish.
  • adjective Depleted of vitality, force, or effectiveness; exhausted.
  • adjective Effeminate.
  • adjective Archaic No longer productive; infertile.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Past bearing; functionless, as a result of age or exhaustion.
  • Hence Having the energies worn out or exhausted; become incapable of efficient action; barren of results.
  • Synonyms Unproductive, unfruitful, unprolific.
  • Spent, worn out.
  • An obsolete spelling of effete.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective 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.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective obsolete Of substances, quantities etc: exhausted, spent, worn-out.
  • adjective Of people: lacking strength or vitality; feeble, powerless, impotent.
  • adjective Decadent, self-indulgent.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective marked by excessive self-indulgence and moral decay

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin effētus, worn out, exhausted : ex-, ex- + fētus, bearing young, pregnant; see dhē(i)- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin effetus ("that has given birth; exhausted").

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Examples

  • The anti-intellectualism that is popular in political and social discourse in this country when referring to the "effete European culture" that puts a high premium on learning and our instant gratification mentality that stems from our over-commercialized society discourages and disparages the kind of hard, persistent, and concentrated work that produces good learning, not just test taking.

    Joel Shatzky: Educating for Democracy: Dumbing Down the English Regents Joel Shatzky 2012

  • The anti-intellectualism that is popular in political and social discourse in this country when referring to the "effete European culture" that puts a high premium on learning and our instant gratification mentality that stems from our over-commercialized society discourages and disparages the kind of hard, persistent, and concentrated work that produces good learning, not just test taking.

    Joel Shatzky: Educating for Democracy: Dumbing Down the English Regents Joel Shatzky 2012

  • So quipped Gore Vidal, after being told by William F. Buckley, Jr. that if he didn't stop calling the effete reactionary a crypto-Nazi, the "queer" would get socked "in the goddamned face."

    Dennis Perrin: Buckley's Rancid Career 2008

  • Although many karate styles emphasize competition over the so-called effete “dancing” of “traditional” styles that “begin and end with kata,” all karate practitioners decry the sportification suspōtsuka of karate.

    Karate and Modernity: A Call for Comments 2005

  • Although many karate styles emphasize competition over the so-called effete “dancing” of “traditional” styles that “begin and end with kata,” all karate practitioners decry the sportification suspōtsuka of karate.

    Updates: Textbook and Constitutional revision 2005

  • Although many karate styles emphasize competition over the so-called effete “dancing” of “traditional” styles that “begin and end with kata,” all karate practitioners decry the sportification suspōtsuka of karate.

    井の中の蛙 » Karate and Modernity: A Call for Comments » Print 2005

  • Although many karate styles emphasize competition over the so-called effete “dancing” of “traditional” styles that “begin and end with kata,” all karate practitioners decry the sportification suspōtsuka of karate.

    Karate and Modernity: A Call for Comments 2005

  • Is it simply a reproduction of one of these Eastern nationalities, which we are so fond of alluding to as effete?

    Confessions and Criticisms Julian Hawthorne 1890

  • But Russians have similar traits as Iranians : Russians like poisoning a crime known as an effete crime practiced most often by women and Iranians talk tough while trying to get their dirty deeds done by others.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • The airwaves were filled with insults about "effete" and "cowardly" Frenchmen, the phrase "cheese eating surrender monkeys" was on lips across the nation, and rich patriots were boycotting Rhône wine in the spirit of national sacrifice.

    Richard (RJ) Eskow: The French Connection: That Jailed Banker Raises US Issues RJ 2010

Comments

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  • See effete liberals.

    October 21, 2007

  • Always reminds me of effeminate.

    October 21, 2007

  • As we find stumps of vast trees in our exhausted soils, and have received traditions of their ancient fertility to tillage, so history reckons epochs in which the intellect of famed races becomes effete.

    Ralph Waldo Emerson, English Traits

    July 25, 2011