ef|fete / I fiː t/ ADJ If you describe someone as effete , you are criticizing them for being weak and powerless. [FORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ …the charming but effete Russian gentry of the 1840s and 1850s.
ef|fi|ca|cious /e f I ke I ʃəs/ ADJ Something that is efficacious is effective. [FORMAL ] □ The nasal spray was new on the market and highly efficacious.
ef|fi|ca|cy /e f I kəsi/ N‑UNCOUNT [usu with poss] If you talk about the efficacy of something, you are talking about its effectiveness and its ability to do what it is supposed to. [FORMAL ] □ Recent medical studies confirm the efficacy of a healthier lifestyle.
ef|fi|cien|cy / I f I ʃ ə nsi/ (efficiencies )
1 N‑UNCOUNT Efficiency is the quality of being able to do a task successfully, without wasting time or energy. □ There are many ways to increase agricultural efficiency in the poorer areas of the world. □ …energy efficiency.
2 N‑UNCOUNT In physics and engineering, efficiency is the ratio between the amount of energy a machine needs to make it work, and the amount it produces. [TECHNICAL ]
ef|fi|cient ◆◇◇ / I f I ʃ ə nt/ ADJ If something or someone is efficient , they are able to do tasks successfully, without wasting time or energy. □ With today's more efficient contraception women can plan their families and careers. ● ef|fi|cient|ly ADV □ I work very efficiently and am decisive, and accurate in my judgement.
ef|fi|gy /e f I dʒi/ (effigies )
1 N‑COUNT An effigy is a quickly and roughly made figure, often ugly or amusing, that represents someone you hate or feel contempt for.
2 N‑COUNT An effigy is a statue or carving of a famous person. [FORMAL ]
eff|ing /e f I ŋ/ ADJ [ADJ n] Some people use effing to emphasize a word or phrase, especially when they are feeling angry or annoyed. [BRIT , RUDE , EMPHASIS ]
ef|flu|ent /e fluənt/ (effluents ) N‑VAR Effluent is liquid waste material that comes out of factories or sewage works. [FORMAL ] □ The effluent from the factory was dumped into the river.
ef|fort ◆◆◆ /e fə r t/ (efforts )
1 N‑VAR [oft N to-inf] If you make an effort to do something, you try very hard to do it. □ He made no effort to hide his disappointment. □ Finding a cure requires considerable time and effort. □ …his efforts to reform Italian research. □ [+ of ] Despite the efforts of the United Nations, the problem of drug traffic continues to grow. □ But a concerted effort has begun to improve the quality of the urban air.
2 N‑UNCOUNT [usu with N , oft a N ] If you say that someone did something with effort or with an effort , you mean it was difficult for them to do. [WRITTEN ] □ She took a deep breath and sat up slowly and with great effort. □ With an effort she contained her irritation.
3 N‑COUNT An effort is a particular series of activities that is organized by a group of people in order to achieve something. □ …a famine relief effort in Angola.
4 N‑SING If you say that something is an effort , you mean that an unusual amount of physical or mental energy is needed to do it. □ He's very stooped and it's an effort to lift his head.
5 PHRASE If you make the effort to do something, you do it, even though you need extra energy to do it or you do not really want to. □ I don't get lonely now because I make the effort to see people. COLLOCATIONS effort NOUN
1
adjective + effort : determined, last-ditch, worthwhile; solo, team
verb + effort : make, renew, require; praise, recognize; block, hamper
3
noun + effort : conservation, recovery, relief, rescue; peace, war
ef|fort|less /e fə r tləs/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Something that is effortless is done easily and well. □ In a single effortless motion, he scooped Frannie into his arms. ● ef|fort|less|ly ADV [ADV after v] □ Her son Peter adapted effortlessly to his new surroundings.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] You use effortless to describe a quality that someone has naturally and does not have to learn. □ She liked him above all for his effortless charm.
ef|fron|tery / I frʌ ntəri/ N‑UNCOUNT Effrontery is behaviour that is bold, rude, or disrespectful. [FORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ [+ of ] One could only gasp at the sheer effrontery of the man.
ef|fu|sion / I fjuː ʒ ə n/ (effusions ) N‑VAR If someone expresses their emotions or ideas with effusion , they express them with more enthusiasm and for longer than is usual or expected. □ I did not embarrass her with my effusions.
ef|fu|sive / I fjuː s I v/ ADJ If you describe someone as effusive , you mean that they express pleasure, gratitude, or approval in a very enthusiastic way. □ He was effusive in his praise for the general. ● ef|fu|sive|ly ADV □ She greeted them effusively.
e-fit /iː f I t/ (e-fits ) also E-fit N‑COUNT An e-fit is a computer-generated picture of someone who is suspected of a crime. Compare identikit , Photofit . □ Police have released an E-fit picture of the suspected gunman.
EFL /iː ef e l/ N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] EFL is the teaching of English to people whose first language is not English. EFL is an abbreviation for 'English as a Foreign Language'. □ …an EFL teacher.
e.g. /iː dʒiː / e.g. is an abbreviation that means 'for example'. It is used before a noun, or to introduce another sentence. □ We need helpers of all types, engineers, scientists (e.g. geologists) and teachers.