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effeteness

noun

1
as in effeminacy

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2
as in tenderness

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for effeteness
  1. effeminacy
  2. tenderness
  3. softness
  4. impotence
  5. helplessness
  6. powerlessness
  7. invalidism
  8. defenselessness
Noun
  • This horror at effeminacy echoes across Baldwin’s novels and essays.
    — Garth Greenwell, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
  • The researchers theorized this could be in part because of greater stigma toward effeminacy in boys than masculinity in girls.
    — Benjamin Ryan, NBC News, 4 Oct. 2023
Definition of effeminacy
Noun
  • Its moribund eccentricities cannot be separated from the tenderness of its story because Rhys and co-writer and composer, Joss Holden-Rea, have taken the time to sculpt characters with interiority that feels invitational.
    — Zachary Lee, IndieWire, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Instead, the music can provide somewhere to put those feelings, a place where sadness, anger, desire, tenderness and joy can coexist without needing to be immediately resolved.
    — Jason Phillips, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of tenderness
Noun
  • These comments were a relief to investors who may have been bracing for signs of softness and a possible guidance cut.
    — Jeff Marks, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Ornamental grasses are a wonderful way to spruce up your lawn or add some softness and movement to your garden.
    — Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of softness
Noun
  • According to reports, Brinkley would inject slivers of Billy goat gonads into human scrotums as a cure for impotence.
    — Richard Wagoner, Daily News, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Once again, Gulf leaders were shocked not just by American disregard for their preferences but also by the revelation of American impotence.
    — MARC LYNCH, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of impotence
Noun
  • There is a particular sort of helplessness that comes from knowing exactly how to fix a computer while being hundreds of miles away from it.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 18 Sep. 2026
  • As Josephine’s mother, Claire, Chan is luminous with quiet sorrow, conveying maternal guilt and helplessness with precision.
    — Clayton Davis, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of helplessness
Noun
  • That sense of powerlessness against an unknowable, unkillable foe.
    — Keith Langston, Space.com, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Unable to leave without military permission, Ridi confronts settlers who claim his yard as theirs, underscoring Palestinians’ powerlessness as violent outposts expand with scant police accountability.
    — Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of powerlessness
Noun
  • Since the 1970s, feminist scholars have been actively documenting the ways menstruation has been used to ground false arguments about women’s weakness, invalidism, and inferiority in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Mar. 2026
  • As Eliot went through a crisis involving his turn to Christianity, Vivien’s invalidism, and his mother’s death, his letters got more and more intense and confessional.
    — Christopher Tayler, Harper’s Magazine , 17 Aug. 2022
Definition of invalidism
Noun
  • The fragile defenselessness of the proud has proven mesmerizing.
    — Lo Patrick, PEOPLE, 14 July 2026
Definition of defenselessness
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

effete
effeteness
efficacious
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Cite this Entry

“Effeteness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/effeteness. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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