Words / E / General

effete

adjective/ɪˈfiːt/

C2CEFR level
75/100Rarity: rare
FormalRegister

No longer capable of effective action; weak, worn out, or decadent.

He dismissed the committee as an effete body incapable of any decisive reform.

Similar: decadent, enfeebled, enervated

Topic: Cambridge C2 Proficiency in General English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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More general words: Cambridge C2 Proficiency