WordWealth: effete

ef·fete , adj.

1. lacking in wholesome vigor; degenerate; decadent: an effete, overrefined society. 2. exhausted of vigor or energy; worn out: an effete political force. 3. unable to produce; sterile. [1615–25; < L effēta exhausted from bearing, equiv. to ef- EF- + fēta having brought forth, fem. ptp. of lost v.; see FETUS]

—ef·fetely, adv.

—ef·feteness, n.

—Syn.2. enervated, debilitated.

(Random House Webster's Unabridged). Look at Thesaurus

He wasn't refined or effete, but a horse trader, smart, clever, always with his ear to the ground. —— Bob Ortega, In Sam We Trust

Once artists aimed for the social high ground, they began to worry that painting and, above all, sculpture were beneath the dignity of a brain-worker. The two great Renaissance artist-intellectuals, Leonardo and Michelangelo, were almost incapable of finishing work. The two great non-intellectuals, Raphael and Titian, were unceasingly productive. (cont'd)-- Leonardo dismissed sculpture because it required too much manual labour, and faffed around doing cranky experiments. Michelangelo diversified into frescos, poetry and architecture. Art historians cite Benedetto Varchi's tedious peroration on Michelangelo as evidence of the great prestige of visual arts, but Varchi reserved his highest praise for Michelangelo's poetry, encouraging him to churn out yet more clichéd warblings for effete toffs. —— James Hall, 'Don't Give Up the Day Job, Michelangelo', The Intellectual Life of the Early Renaissance Artist; Independent; August 08, 2000

At the interface of sea and land, the communities of the Atlantic façade have, throughout time, shared the same turmoil of emotions, unfailingly called up by the presence of the ocean. Those who face the ocean will always be in awe of the uncontrollable power of its waves and its swells, and the inexorable, reassuring strength of its rhythm. There is the sense of limitlessness - of being on the edge of the world looking out across an infinity of ever-changing sea. The ocean is an adversary to challenge, but one demanding deep respect. Its tides, so much more impressive in the Atlantic than in the effete Mediterranean, add a different measure of time to the cycle of day and night and the changing seasons. Its very existence is a goad to travel and exploration. Across time there has been the sense that anyone trespassing on an ocean's territory enters a state of unstable equilibrium with the powers. They become - as the Christian hymn puts it - "those in peril on the sea". From time to time the ocean takes its toll of humanity. Such is the inevitable reality. —— Barry Cunliffe; The Atlantic Seaboard: At the Leading Edge; Independent/Travel; Feb 10, 2001

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