MEANING
Lacking vigor or force, often because of overrefinement, decadence, or long-established comfort.
Use it for
Suggest a polished society or person that has become weak and decadent.Characterize a polished but spiritually exhausted court, institution, or ruling class.
Words that belong together
- effete aristocracy
- effete court
- effete culture
On the page
The effete court prized its etiquette even as the border forts fell.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Word forms
- Base
- effete
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Usage notes
Often pejorative and literary; it may carry dated, gendered, or class-based overtones, so use it deliberately rather than as a neutral synonym for weak.
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