Effete

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ɪˈfiːt/

Definitions

1. Worn out by excessive indulgence or moral decline, lacking strength and productive capacity
2. Depleted of vigor and influence through luxury and softness, no longer capable of effective action
3. Lacking strength or effectiveness as a result of excessive refinement or moral decay

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "effete" is that it once described a body worn out by childbearing. The Latin "effētus" meant "exhausted," and it was built from "ex-" ("out") and "fētus," the past participle of "fētare," "to bring forth young," so its literal sense was "that has given birth." Latin speakers used it of a female animal or person who had borne so many offspring that she had little strength left, and the idea of depletion, rather than the birth itself, is what carried forward. English borrowed the word in the 1620s with the sense the Latin had given it: worn out, exhausted, past one's vigour. Over time the word narrowed its target from simple fatigue to a general lack of force, which is how it came to mean weak and feeble.

Synonyms: worn-out, exhausted, ineffective, overrefined

Antonyms: vigorous, productive, effective