unproductive

adjective

un·​pro·​duc·​tive ˌən-prə-ˈdək-tiv How to pronounce unproductive (audio)
-prō-
: not effective in bringing something about : not yielding results, benefits, or profits : not productive
unproductive meetings
unproductive strategies
unproductive workers

Examples of unproductive in a Sentence

crop rotation had prevented the farmland from becoming unproductive her attempts to write a novel have been unproductive
Recent Examples on the Web On Monday, the university’s president, Christopher Eisgruber, spoke for the first time with a group of students and faculty about divestment and disassociation from Israel, a meeting that lasted only an hour, and one that the objectors found unproductive. Ginia Bellafante, New York Times, 10 May 2024 Many/most/nearly all of the obscene costs intrinsic to these hospitals is promulgated by endless uncompensated and unproductive government meddling and mandates, the end product of which is DMV-like bureaucracy and bloat. Patrick Skerrett, STAT, 4 May 2024 It's actually been a really unproductive Congress for this term, and this is a big win on a real big campaign promise. Wired Staff, WIRED, 25 Apr. 2024 After six months of unproductive meetings with the superintendent, administrators and school board, the MAEAC retained attorney Ronald Fernandes and sued. Richard J. Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Mar. 2024 The ruling in the case, Trump v. Anderson, thus puts an end to one dragged-out, distracting, and ultimately unproductive fight. Amy Davidson Sorkin, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 The new bill should continue funding efforts to encourage landowners to reforest unproductive lands and streambanks, set aside sensitive ecological areas for conservation, and reconnect streams and wetlands to larger watersheds. Bill Frist, Fortune, 20 Feb. 2024 The bill presents a rare change for a historically unproductive Congress to deliver a win for constituents. Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 29 Jan. 2024 Ribicoff, the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland, became a role model and taught him, Mr. Lieberman wrote, the value of compromise over unproductive rigidity. Michael H. Brown, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unproductive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1676, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unproductive was circa 1676

Dictionary Entries Near unproductive

Cite this Entry

“Unproductive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unproductive. Accessed 16 May. 2024.

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