1
as in barren
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation
crop rotation had prevented the farmland from becoming unproductive
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unsuccessful
producing no results
her attempts to write a novel have been unproductive
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unproductive
Michael Penix The Falcons’ selection of Penix put the draft on tilt in 2024, but his play at the end of the season — replacing an immobile, unproductive Cousins as starter — showed the upside Atlanta was chasing with their surprise selection at No. 8 overall.
—
Jake Ciely, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
Freeman stole second base to get into scoring position, but Andy Pages and Alex Call struck out, extending the Dodgers’ unproductive night to 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 19 Aug. 2025
Yet even in this willfully unproductive use of leisure time, work hovers overhead like a ghost.
—Julie Beck, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2025
In the aftermath of their unproductive talk at the villa, Rainbeau has finally let go of any pretense of niceness toward her.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unproductive
Jake Ciely, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
Freeman stole second base to get into scoring position, but Andy Pages and Alex Call struck out, extending the Dodgers’ unproductive night to 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 19 Aug. 2025
Yet even in this willfully unproductive use of leisure time, work hovers overhead like a ghost.
—Julie Beck, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2025
In the aftermath of their unproductive talk at the villa, Rainbeau has finally let go of any pretense of niceness toward her.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unproductive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unproductive
Adjective
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The local Rite Aid was getting ready to shut down, with barren shelves and 75% off all items, while commerce elsewhere in the town of less than 3,000 people wasn’t exactly bustling.—
David Mark,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
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While flying a shuttlecraft, she gets sucked into a wormhole and crashes onto a barren moon.—
Adam B. Vary,
Variety,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The new complaint was filed 20 years after Burrowes first claimed in an unsuccessful civil case that Combs may have put out a hit on Shakur and Knight.—
Gina Barton,
USA Today,
7 Sep. 2025
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All have been unsuccessful due to his status as a suspect in multiple violent crimes.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Silksong is steeped in religious imagery — desolate chapels, ringing church bells, even rosary beads that act as in-game currency.—
Keller Gordon,
NPR,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Her haunting soprano ranged from desolate whispers to expansive belts.—
Audrey Gibbs,
Nashville Tennessean,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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And, perhaps most dangerous still, these dreams of modernity shine an unwanted light on the futile hardship of the family’s status quo.—
Adam Solomons,
IndieWire,
4 Sep. 2025
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This alternating strategy is futile.—
Wesley Alexander Hill,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Shooting scenes in wide or medium shots that sometimes break into Hsiao-Lee’s harrowing point-of-view, cinematographer Yu Jing-Pin depicts a world without much color or hope, while sets by Huang Mei-Ching and Tu Shuo-Feng emphasize a sad and impoverished existence.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Sep. 2025
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Each serves a high rate of students from impoverished households, and families within the schools' boundaries can choose to attend those schools or receive a bus to a second school option based on their address.—
Krista Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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This method is a significant departure from traditional chemical recycling techniques like pyrolysis, which operate at lower temperatures (450–600°C) and produce over a hundred different by-products, many of which are useless.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Sep. 2025
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Economists usually look at new jobs, but immigration is now very low, making that figure useless as a measure of how the economy is doing.—
Bill Conerly,
Forbes.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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But prorating three years of player profits down to 12 months, as UEFA’s rule does, reduces the immediate efficacy of successful trading in the market, the very strategy that poorer clubs increasingly rely on to climb the ladder.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2025
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Like most extended car warranty providers, CarShield excludes pre-existing conditions that existed before your warranty took effect, as well as damage resulting from poor maintenance, neglect or intentional abuse.—
Brian Sloan,
CNBC,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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This anti-waste brand upcycles materials, and was founded by Kisa Sky Shiga.—
Nadja Sayej,
Forbes,
20 Dec. 2022
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Fanning out like urban guerrillas through Paris’ darkened streets well after midnight, the anti-waste activists shinny up walls and drain pipes, reaching for switches to turn off the lights. Click.—
The Christian Science Monitor,
The Christian Science Monitor,
3 Aug. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Unproductive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unproductive. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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