How to Use counterproductive in a Sentence

counterproductive

adjective
Definition of counterproductivenext
Synonyms for counterproductivenext
  • His uncontrollable anger is very counterproductive to his attempt at saving his marriage.
  • The use of a last name could even be counterproductive.
    — Maya Davis, CNN, 3 Aug. 2024
  • Wulfeck said many of the changes would be counterproductive.
    — David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Mar. 2022
  • The trouble, of course, is that Trump’s plan is not so simple to achieve — and, in fact, may be counterproductive.
    — David Goldman, CNN, 23 Jan. 2025
  • In fact, trying to suck the venom out of a snake bite is counterproductive.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2024
  • The guys that are rehabbing are on their own right now, which to me seems very counterproductive here.
    — Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2022
  • But a campaign to change the language of disease, based on the urge to do something, could be counterproductive.
    — Benjamin Mazer, The Atlantic, 17 Aug. 2022
  • But this may have been counterproductive, at least for the penguin colonies.
    — Joshua Rapp Learn, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2025
  • And her presence won’t help, and could be counterproductive, in red states.
    — Noah Bierman, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2021
  • Blackstock said the two-case rule is counterproductive on that front.
    — Eric Umansky, ProPublica, 2 Apr. 2021
  • Some argue that pulling out of Georgia would be counterproductive to the cause and harm workers.
    — Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2021
  • A lot of people may see hair trimming as counterproductive when trying to gain length, but Afro hair needs to be trimmed.
    — Sheilla Mamona, Glamour, 8 Aug. 2022
  • And in many ways, the tariffs that that Trump imposed on China were counterproductive.
    — CBS News, 28 July 2021
  • But that came to be seen as tainted by racial bias and counterproductive because drug use is treatable.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 8 Feb. 2022
  • This is counterproductive as these complex products need a great deal of capital to cross the chasm.
    — Susan Akbarpour, Forbes, 2 Sep. 2021
  • Adding stuff that will eat up even more of that precious resource seems counterproductive.
    — Leia Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 9 July 2021
  • This is just how the hackers like it and is proving to be a counterproductive decision in hindsight.
    — Edward Segal, Forbes, 31 May 2021
  • Adding a stack of non-premium prospects could be counterproductive as Houston looks to turn the corner into the next phase of its rebuild.
    — Michael Shapiro, Chron, 31 Jan. 2023
  • That would be one way to get your mind off her because sitting around thinking about her is counterproductive.
    — Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 18 Aug. 2020
  • Emefiele is known in Nigeria for his dogged defense of the naira, sometimes to counterproductive ends.
    — Alexander Onukwue, Quartz, 30 Sep. 2021
  • That would be counterproductive and won’t contribute to the young person’s growth and learning.
    — Lauryn Higgins, Parents, 16 Jan. 2025
  • The result is constant guilt about our choices and that is counterproductive.
    — Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 20 Dec. 2022
  • What used to feel impactful now feels out of touch and sometimes even counterproductive.
    — Ryan Smith, Newsweek, 16 Dec. 2024
  • Yet his play was so counterproductive last season as to warrant some kind of penalty.
    — Rob Mahoney, SI.com, 9 Sep. 2019
  • Still, experts agree that waiting to time the market can be counterproductive.
    — Alexis Christoforous, ABC News, 10 Feb. 2023
  • Choosing the cheapest one to save taxpayer money can be counterproductive if the project fails.
    — Komal Goyal, Forbes, 17 July 2023
  • But in my own case, policing schoolyard taunts would have been counterproductive.
    — Spencer A. Klavan, The Atlantic, 16 Aug. 2019
  • But now, such tactics may prove counterproductive, as the global #MeToo movement helps to bring attention to Peng's case, Ohlberg said.
    — Nectar Gan and Steve George, CNN, 19 Nov. 2021
  • Hale believed that the strikes were counterproductive and immoral, and that Americans had a right to know how the military was deciding whom to kill.
    — Jameel Jaffer, The New Yorker, 26 June 2019
  • Much of the traditional oppositional playbook has, in the dawning Second Age of Trump, come to seem ineffective, pointless, even counterproductive.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'counterproductive.' 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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