1
as in degenerate
having lost forcefulness, courage, or spirit
the soft, effete society that marked the final years of the Roman empire
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in weak
lacking bodily strength
the outdoor adventure program takes effete youths and turns them into hardy campers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in weakened
lacking strength of will or character
the governor is too effete to take on the powerful special interests that really run this state
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in feminine
of or relating to a man who has or displays qualities traditionally considered more suitable for women
wore a slightly more effete style of clothing in those days
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of effete
The Portnoy in the pizza videos often has a preening, fussy, almost effete quality that complicates his butch self-image.
—
Willy Staley, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
This is bad enough, but then there’s the wide gulf of sensibility that separates Rock and Martin; the latter’s effete irony just doesn’t gel with Rock’s political trenchancy.
—Bill Wyman, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2025
The Portnoy in the pizza videos often has a preening, fussy, almost effete quality that complicates his butch self-image.
—Willy Staley, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
And for centuries the fork remained suspect in Europe, as the effete accessory of aristocrats; as late as the 17th century, Louis XIV, amid the pomp of Versailles, is said to have insisted on grabbing food — off a gold plate — with his fingers.
—Ligaya Mishan Kyoko Hamada, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for effete
Willy Staley, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
This is bad enough, but then there’s the wide gulf of sensibility that separates Rock and Martin; the latter’s effete irony just doesn’t gel with Rock’s political trenchancy.
—Bill Wyman, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2025
The Portnoy in the pizza videos often has a preening, fussy, almost effete quality that complicates his butch self-image.
—Willy Staley, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
And for centuries the fork remained suspect in Europe, as the effete accessory of aristocrats; as late as the 17th century, Louis XIV, amid the pomp of Versailles, is said to have insisted on grabbing food — off a gold plate — with his fingers.
—Ligaya Mishan Kyoko Hamada, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for effete
Recent Examples of Synonyms for effete
Adjective
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In a guest role that’s been extremely well hidden in the months leading up to the premiere, Bradley Cooper turns heel as Elijah Gemstone, a degenerate con man who sees right through Abel Grieves’s lucrative scam before plugging him in the forehead.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
9 Mar. 2025
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In theory, the walls of carbon nanotubes house a sea of degenerate electrons that have a similar density to metals.—
The Physics arXiv Blog,
Discover Magazine,
14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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In sum, there is a weak case, at best, for some kind of standardization of non-financial KPIs.—
Shivaram Rajgopal,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2025
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But many Tea Party nominees proved to be weak general election candidates when running for Senate, delaying Republican control of the upper chamber until 2014.—
W. James Antle III,
The Washington Examiner,
13 June 2025
Adjective
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Throughout Fort Worth, streets with feminine monikers are rumored to be named for builders’ girlfriends and paramours.—
Hollace Ava Weiner,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 June 2025
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It’s set in an empty warehouse loft, with light shooting through propeller fans (very Adrian Lyne), and with Miley, in her primal assertion of feminine dominion, joined by Naomi Campbell, the two of them obliterating the need for anyone else.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
7 June 2025
Adjective
-
The party scenes with leggy dancers, meant to be decadent, are inoffensive.—
Mark Swed,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2025
-
Now, instead of being a source of national pride, many elite universities have become a source of national division, with some Americans viewing them as decadent, hypocritical or even hostile to their values.—
Allison Schrager,
Twin Cities,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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But much like the hug stepped on the larger point of supplementing the military base, images of Whitmer hiding behind the folders added to a narrative that Democrats are feeble in the face of Trump's power and influence.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
1 May 2025
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While Shawna and John were meant to be having a romantic anniversary dinner, Barb showed up unannounced and undermined Jennifer’s already feeble attempts at following the evening routine laid out for the young children.—
Sara Belcher,
People.com,
9 May 2025
Adjective
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In language the rest of us can understand that means a slightly softer and more mellow click that’s quieter and less harsh than teh average mechanical keyboard.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2025
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In the play’s most beautiful moments, Smart recites Izzy’s poems in a sweet-bourbon croon—wafting, careful, soft.—
Helen Shaw,
New Yorker,
13 June 2025
Adjective
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So in a move that no one had approved, Wayans put on an effeminate voice for the character in hopes Executive Producer Lorne Michaels would be angry.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
17 Jan. 2025
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In both sketches, Keaton plays an effeminate man who doesn’t quite understand the assignment.—
Rosa Escandon,
Forbes,
20 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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In Benediction, Terence Davies had to split Siegfried Sassoon into two (Jack Lowden, Peter Capaldi) to create a comparably complex personality, but Scott’s Adam is all the more moving for being less refined, a performance of sustained fragility and unmanly truth.—
Armond White,
National Review,
29 Dec. 2023
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Why is his governess, Mrs. Brock, fired for encouraging Richard’s unmanly interest in poetry and music?—
Francine Prose,
The New York Review of Books,
22 Nov. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Effete.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/effete. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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