effete (redirected from effeteness)

ef·fete  (-ft)

adj.

1. Depleted of vitality, force, or effectiveness; exhausted: the final, effete period of the baroque style.

2. Marked by self-indulgence, triviality, or decadence: an effete group of self-professed intellectuals.

3. Overrefined; effeminate.

4. No longer productive; infertile.

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

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ef·fetely adv.

ef·feteness n.

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effete [if-feet]

Adjective

weak, powerless, and decadent [Latin effetus exhausted by bearing young]

Thesaurus

Adj.

1.

effete - 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" decadent indulgent - characterized by or given to yielding to the wishes of someone ; "indulgent grandparents"

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effete

adjective weak, cowardly, feeble, ineffectual, decrepit, spineless, enfeebled, weak-kneed (informal) enervated, overrefined, chicken-hearted, wimpish or wimpy (informal)