1
as in barren
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation
crop rotation had prevented the farmland from becoming unproductive
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unsuccessful
producing no results
her attempts to write a novel have been unproductive
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unproductive
Seventy percent of the additional cuts come from demonstration roles at unproductive department stores and freestanding channels, indicating just how much more digital beauty has become and how much Lauder is looking to avenues like Amazon and TikTok for growth.
—
Evan Clark, Footwear News, 1 May 2026
Cuba has been in crisis ever since the Castro dynasty seized power and turned the country into one of the most unproductive and repressive places on earth.
—Carlos Eire, Time, 23 Apr. 2026
Other than his walk, Hernandez has been particularly unproductive at Coors Field.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 19 Apr. 2026
Companies won’t need whole teams to coordinate in clunky, unproductive meetings; one AI with a few humans will get the job done cheaper and faster.
—Solo Ceesay, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unproductive
Evan Clark, Footwear News, 1 May 2026
Cuba has been in crisis ever since the Castro dynasty seized power and turned the country into one of the most unproductive and repressive places on earth.
—Carlos Eire, Time, 23 Apr. 2026
Other than his walk, Hernandez has been particularly unproductive at Coors Field.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 19 Apr. 2026
Companies won’t need whole teams to coordinate in clunky, unproductive meetings; one AI with a few humans will get the job done cheaper and faster.
—Solo Ceesay, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unproductive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unproductive
Adjective
-
In a barren free-agent class, though, that’s much easier said than done.—
Shayna Goldman,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
-
Called me barren and used up and all that.—
Jamil Jan Kochai,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
If an actor is unsuccessful, their information will be retained only for as long as the Casting Director reasonably considers necessary for record-keeping purposes.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
11 June 2026
-
Fertility treatments were unsuccessful.—
Kendra MacDonald,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
Since the Bankhead and Livermore Cinema opened, a number of popular restaurants – including Zachary’s Pizza, Sauced BBQ and Spirits and Locanda Wine Bar have transformed a once-desolate block into a buzzing culinary destination.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
4 June 2026
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Just under 300,000 years from the moment Homo sapiens appeared in Africa, the species had encircled Earth, mastering desolate deserts and frozen wastelands and all the temperate climes in between.—
Cody Cottier,
Scientific American,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
That was an appropriate response by Rockies fans when the Rockies mercifully moved on from futile general manager Bill Geivett and insufferable team president Greg Feasel.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
7 June 2026
-
Any attempt to pin down the greatest men’s footballer is therefore futile at best and highly subjective at worst.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Transposing the book onto a contemporary setting, Jude’s take centers on an impoverished Romanian migrant, Gianina, played by a sensational Ana Dumitrașcu, who finds work as a housekeeper and au pair for a smugly bourgeois-bohemian couple living in Bordeaux.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
11 June 2026
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To ease the financial burden on the most impoverished, the government said tax exemptions would apply to micro-enterprises and those earning less than $680 a month.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
Radical approaches to what is precious and what is worthless—or appraisal—have always been more than the inversion of that which is useless made priceless, what was originally meant to be ephemeral made timeless.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
-
Radio waves are nearly useless beneath the surface.—
Omar Kardoudi
June 06,
New Atlas,
6 June 2026
Adjective
-
The second didn’t go nearly as well for Bussi as Karlsson and Howden scored on two of the Golden Knights’ six shots in the period to tie the score at 3-3 heading into the third, the tying goal coming off a Seth Jarvis turnover and a couple of poor defensive plays by Sean Walker and K’Andre Miller.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
-
Heat radiates from the pages of this extraordinary novel about a poor family in rural Mississippi in the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
Adjective
-
Recycling and anti-waste advocates counter that regulators weakened the law with exemptions and carve-outs that could undermine its environmental goals.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
1 June 2026
-
Shards of glass and ceramic, rusted metal, medical and bio-waste, syringes, cracked circuit boards, and broken electronics protruded everywhere.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
15 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unproductive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unproductive. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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