ə̇ˈfēt, eˈ- adjective
Etymology: Latin effetus, from ex- + fetus pregnant, breeding, fruitful — more at feminine
1. : exhausted of fertility : no longer able to produce young or fruit : unfruitful
eroded effete earth
2. : marked by lack or deprivation of some inherent characteristic : enervated:
a. of a substance : having lost its unique quality (as flavor)
b. : exhausted of physical energy : worn out : spent
effete , weary, burned-out revolutionists — H.F.Mooney
c. : having lost character, courage, strength, stamina, or vitality
effete literary critics and dogmatic professors — J.T.Farrell
: degenerate
a soft, effete , and decadent race — R.P.Parsons
d. : totally devoid of an original positive drive or purposiveness
vaguely educated for minor diplomatic or other governmental posts in an effete struggle to maintain position — Janet Flanner
e. : soft or decadent as a result of overrefinement of living conditions or laxity of mental or moral discipline
the effete householder who wants things done for him — New Yorker
the effete gentility that lay like a blight on the critical writing of the nineties — C.I.Glicksberg
f. : out-of-date , outmoded
an old but by no means effete statute — Edward Jenks
• effetely adjective
• effeteness noun -es