effete — OET · Shobdo

effete

adjective

1 effete trendies from art colleges:

affected, over-refined, ineffectual, artificial, studied, pretentious, precious, chi-chi, flowery, mannered;

informal twee, la-di-da, pseud;

British, informal poncy, toffee-nosed;

rare alembicated.

▷antonyms unpretentious.

2 he chatted away, exercising his rather effete charm:

effeminate, unmasculine, unmanly;

womanish, girlish, feminine;

weak, soft, timid, timorous, fearful, cowardly, lily-livered, spineless, craven, pusillanimous, chicken-hearted, weak-kneed;

informal sissy, wimpish, wimpy, milksoppish;

offensive limp-wristed, pansyish.

▷antonyms manly.

3 the whole fabric of society is becoming effete:

weakened, enfeebled, enervated, worn out, exhausted, finished, burnt out, played out, drained, spent, powerless.

▷antonyms powerful.

effete Oxford Dictionary of English