unproductive
adjective
un·pro·duc·tive
ˌən-prə-ˈdək-tiv 
-prō-
: not effective in bringing something about : not yielding results, benefits, or profits : not productive
unproductive meetings
unproductive strategies
unproductive workers
Synonyms
Examples of unproductive in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
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
After three days of unproductive labor ending in an emergency C-section, I was too burned out to try to sleep train a newborn.
—Dorian Smith-Garcia, Parents, 12 Mar. 2024
Macy's will close 150 unproductive namesake stores over the next three years including 50 by year-end, the department store operator said Tuesday after posting a fourth-quarter loss and declining sales.
—Anne D'innocenzio, Quartz, 27 Feb. 2024
Deals focused on specific sectors can move the trade debate away from the old, unproductive clash between geopolitics and economics and instead focus on solving global problems.
—Peter E. Harrell, Foreign Affairs, 26 Feb. 2024
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
After three days of unproductive labor ending in an emergency C-section, I was too burned out to try to sleep train a newborn.
—Dorian Smith-Garcia, Parents, 12 Mar. 2024
Macy's will close 150 unproductive namesake stores over the next three years including 50 by year-end, the department store operator said Tuesday after posting a fourth-quarter loss and declining sales.
—Anne D'innocenzio, Quartz, 27 Feb. 2024
Deals focused on specific sectors can move the trade debate away from the old, unproductive clash between geopolitics and economics and instead focus on solving global problems.
—Peter E. Harrell, Foreign Affairs, 26 Feb. 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.
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Cite this Entry
“Unproductive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unproductive. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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