释义
[ ih-feet ] SHOW IPA
/ ɪˈfit / PHONETIC RESPELLING
SEE SYNONYMS FOR effete ON THESAURUS.COM
adjective lacking in wholesome vigor; degenerate; decadent: an effete, overrefined society.
exhausted of vigor or energy; worn out: an effete political force.
unable to produce; sterile.
Origin of effete First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin effēta “exhausted from bearing,” equivalent to ef- “from, out of” (see ef-) + fēta “having brought forth,” feminine past participle of lost verb; see fetus
SYNONYMS FOR effete 2 enervated, debilitated.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR effete ON THESAURUS.COM
OTHER WORDS FROM effete ef·fete·ly, adverb ef·fete·ness, noun non·ef·fete, adjective non·ef·fete·ly, adverb
non·ef·fete·ness, noun un·ef·fete, adjective un·ef·fete·ness, noun
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WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH effete effeminate, effete , feminine, womanish, womanly Words nearby effete efferent vessel, effervesce, effervescence, effervescent, effervescent salt, effete , Effexor, efficacious, efficacity, efficacy, efficiency
Dictionary.com UnabridgedBased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for effete Some critics have made the same sorts of arguments about the remote and effete president.
The McConnell Friend Obama Just Hired | Jonathan Miller| November 10, 2014| DAILY BEAST
Unlike their effete northeastern shadows, country boys rarely fade away.
Let Us Now Praise Famous Rednecks and Their Unjustly Unsung Kin | Allison Glock| August 23, 2014| DAILY BEAST
The courtiers were an effete and in some cases epicene crew.
Queen Victoria’s Secret Scottish Sex Castle | Clive Irving| August 17, 2014| DAILY BEAST
It sees test scores as effete and irrelevant, like the older privileges of birth.
We Need More Class Traitors: Solving America’s Meritocracy Problem | Jedediah Purdy| April 20, 2014| DAILY BEAST
When I went to basketball camp, the boys from the real West Virginia would make fun of us effete Morgantown kids.
In West Virginia Water, an Environmental Nightmare Borders on Crisis | Michael Tomasky| January 10, 2014| DAILY BEAST
The lace work of 15th century Gothic is not a lie, it is an effete form.
Effete and powerless, attacked on all sides, the old rulers are soon swept away by the breath of insurrection.
The Conquest of Bread | Peter Kropotkin
If we don't like it, we can get on the steamer and go abroad, where we may visit the effete monarchies and have a high old time.
Comic History of the United States | Bill Nye
There is no doubt of their power to promote evacuations of effete accumulations from the kidneys, skin and bowels.
Saratoga and How to See It | R. F. Dearborn
These are operas which will keep Italian opera alive, if that effete institution can be preserved by mortal means.
Verdi: Man and Musician | Frederick James Crowest
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British Dictionary definitions for effete adjective weak, ineffectual, or decadent as a result of overrefinement an effete academic
exhausted of vitality or strength; worn out; spent
(of animals or plants) no longer capable of reproduction
Derived forms of effete effetely , adverb effeteness , noun Word Origin for effete C17: from Latin effētus having produced young, hence, exhausted by bearing, from fētus having brought forth; see fetus
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Words related to effete corrupt, debased, decadent, decayed, decrepit, degenerate, dissipated, dissolute, drained, enervated, feeble, immoral, obsolete, soft, spent, washed-out, wasted, weak, worn out, burnt out