exploitative

adjective

ex·​ploit·​ative ik-ˈsplȯi-tə-tiv  ˈek-ˌsplȯi- 

: exploiting or tending to exploit

especially : unfairly or cynically using another person or group for profit or advantage

exploitative terms of employment

an exploitative film

exploitatively adverb

Examples of exploitative in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Weekly Newsletter Audiences were asked to consider that the display of human difference was dehumanizing or even exploitative but also to understand that the sideshow represented a locus of community and a way for disabled performers to make an independent living. —JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2025

Then there’s anticipating potential backlash for anything exploitative or sensationalized. —Derek Lawrence, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025

Silicon Valley dreamt up poor derivations of past cautionary tales and created a monoculture of exploitative social media feeds and predatory data-hungry apps that birthed Orwell’s surveillance state. —John Lopez, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2025

Alleging a pattern of financially exploitative tactics, a group of southeastern Wisconsin lawmakers wants the state to tighten its regulation of for-profit colleges. —Cleo Krejci, jsonline.com, 20 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

exploit entry 2 + -ative

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined above