Meaning & use
effete
Affected, overrefined, and lacking in strength, vigor, or practical effectiveness.
See it in a sentence
Critics dismissed the policy as an effete gesture that would change nothing in practice.
He mocked the club's effete manners, all polished speech and no real substance.
A note on using this word
Effete carries a somewhat old-fashioned, disapproving tone and is often used to criticize people seen as pretentious or weak-willed.
Words with a similar meaning
ineffectualdecadent
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “effete”, then compare your use with the examples above.
Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.