as in worthless
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Recent Examples of nonproductive
The key is refusing to engage in circular or baiting conversations, instead setting boundaries and exiting nonproductive conversations.
—
Angela Haupt, Time, 30 Oct. 2025
Course of trade in the oil industry often leaves the public on the hook for nonproductive well cleanup costs, including capping.
—Andrew Leahey, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
Buoyed by the early promise of its Dravet therapeutic, the company developed a second drug candidate, STK-002, that similarly targets splicing to turn nonproductive gene transcripts into constructive ones.
—Elie Dolgin, Discover Magazine, 26 Apr. 2023
But will this calculation include all the opportunity cost of the expenditure of nonproductive effort?
—WSJ, 16 Aug. 2022
Remove all twiggy, dead or nonproductive growth.
—oregonlive, 8 Mar. 2022
Angela Haupt, Time, 30 Oct. 2025
Course of trade in the oil industry often leaves the public on the hook for nonproductive well cleanup costs, including capping.
—Andrew Leahey, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
Buoyed by the early promise of its Dravet therapeutic, the company developed a second drug candidate, STK-002, that similarly targets splicing to turn nonproductive gene transcripts into constructive ones.
—Elie Dolgin, Discover Magazine, 26 Apr. 2023
But will this calculation include all the opportunity cost of the expenditure of nonproductive effort?
—WSJ, 16 Aug. 2022
Remove all twiggy, dead or nonproductive growth.
—oregonlive, 8 Mar. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nonproductive
Adjective
-
They are also known to trick miners into quarrying worthless ore, following veins of what appears to be copper or silver, but when smelted, is found to be without value or, worse, poisonous.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Oct. 2025
-
Should the stock rise, the option expires worthless, and the investor keeps the premium.—
Michael Khouw,
CNBC,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Robotaxis remain an expensive and unprofitable proposition.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
6 Nov. 2025
-
The business is unprofitable, and finding those external customers is seen as key to turning it around.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Although self-reliance is Africa’s goal, the challenge is achieving true autonomy without structural transformation of nations that remain highly unproductive.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Play can look silly or unproductive — that's the point.—
Cas Holman,
CNBC,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Barkan’s was one of several unsuccessful progressive campaigns Mamdani worked on before getting a job as a foreclosure prevention counselor at a nonprofit.—
Ben Adler,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
-
There have been a handful of topping bids this year, including an unsuccessful attempt by hedge fund Alden Global to beat out Hearst in its deal for the Dallas Morning News.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Trinkets are either very helpful or very pointless.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Republicans weren’t having it, but most pouncing would have been pointless.—
Jeremy Lott,
The Washington Examiner,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Pattinson plays the character’s increasingly useless husband.—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
5 Nov. 2025
-
My French was useless—I was also considered a tourist by association.—
Lane Nieset,
Travel + Leisure,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Even as Nintendo has endlessly mined its classic consoles for nostalgic re-releases in recent decades, the company has seemed to completely ignore the existence of the Virtual Boy—its abortive 1990s dip into the world of early virtual reality.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Our main girl, Diva, is a diva down, forced into abortive encounters with the A.I. that stands, literally, between the goods and services supportive of her everyday life.—
Lauren Michele Jackson,
New Yorker,
23 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The position advanced by the states is legally unavailing as a matter of longstanding and well-established law.—
WSJ,
WSJ,
25 July 2018
-
Efforts to aid him with lifeboats, three of which were ineffectually trying to breast the heavy sea, were unavailing, while a lifeline, held by a number of rescuers, was carried far out into the surf by a number of swimmers.—
sandiegouniontribune.com,
sandiegouniontribune.com,
6 May 2018
Cite this Entry
“Nonproductive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonproductive. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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