as in unsuccessful
not producing the desired result
harsh disciplinary measures that prove to be counterproductive
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of counterproductive
Anything that gets in the way of a smooth user experience will likely be ignored or disabled, and thus quickly becomes counterproductive from the perspective of attack mitigation.
—
Davey Winder, Forbes.com, 14 June 2025
Asked whether flying the banner of another country during a protest should be deemed offensive or counterproductive, Kim scoffed and shook his head.
—Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2025
The engineering community, especially roboticists, needs to be proactive on these issues to prevent any backlash from society and to preempt potentially counterproductive measures or international regulations that could harm open science.
—Ludovic Righetti, IEEE Spectrum, 10 June 2025
Rather, Trump and his economic officials have decried economic circumstances that have developed slowly over decades and are attempting some kind of intuitive (and counterproductive) quick fix to address them.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for counterproductive
Davey Winder, Forbes.com, 14 June 2025
Asked whether flying the banner of another country during a protest should be deemed offensive or counterproductive, Kim scoffed and shook his head.
—Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2025
The engineering community, especially roboticists, needs to be proactive on these issues to prevent any backlash from society and to preempt potentially counterproductive measures or international regulations that could harm open science.
—Ludovic Righetti, IEEE Spectrum, 10 June 2025
Rather, Trump and his economic officials have decried economic circumstances that have developed slowly over decades and are attempting some kind of intuitive (and counterproductive) quick fix to address them.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for counterproductive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterproductive
Adjective
-
Life-saving efforts were unsuccessful and the man was pronounced dead at the scene, said Officer Anthony Gamble, a Sacramento Police Department spokesperson.—
The Sacramento Bee,
Sacbee.com,
29 June 2025
-
Attempts to impeach Pashinyan, who came to power in 2018, were unsuccessful.—
Avet Demourian,
Los Angeles Times,
27 June 2025
Adjective
-
Windmills, and the rest of this 'JUNK,' are the most expensive and inefficient energy in the world, is destroying the beauty of the environment, and is 10 times more costly than any other energy.—
Adeola Adeosun
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 June 2025
-
This type of development is inefficient at housing large populations.—
Kristian Fors,
Oc Register,
19 June 2025
Adjective
-
Now county leaders are making a hard push for solutions, mindful that incarceration is often an ineffective response to broader economic and societal challenges.—
Stephen Hudak,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 June 2025
-
If these thermal management systems are ineffective an electric vehicle could be rendered immobile (or worse) due to the battery overheating.—
Charles Singh,
USA Today,
28 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Counterproductive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterproductive. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share