as in unsuccessful
not producing the desired result
harsh disciplinary measures that prove to be counterproductive
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Recent Examples of counterproductive
Potentially dumping Hoerner’s salary to make Bregman’s numbers work within a budget for baseball operations would be counterproductive.
—
Patrick Mooney, The Athletic, 13 Feb. 2025
Requiring an affordable component is counterproductive by limiting numbers while making other housing costs rise more to compensate for them.
—Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Feb. 2025
Is the freezing of USAID funds for humanitarian assistance productive or counterproductive for the fights against future worldwide pandemics?
—Belinda Luscombe, TIME, 29 Jan. 2025
As the name suggests, helicopter parenting is a style of parenting where parents hover over their kids and tend to micromanage them, which can be counterproductive if the goal is to raise autonomous kids.
—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for counterproductive
Patrick Mooney, The Athletic, 13 Feb. 2025
Requiring an affordable component is counterproductive by limiting numbers while making other housing costs rise more to compensate for them.
—Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Feb. 2025
Is the freezing of USAID funds for humanitarian assistance productive or counterproductive for the fights against future worldwide pandemics?
—Belinda Luscombe, TIME, 29 Jan. 2025
As the name suggests, helicopter parenting is a style of parenting where parents hover over their kids and tend to micromanage them, which can be counterproductive if the goal is to raise autonomous kids.
—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for counterproductive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterproductive
Adjective
-
While the administration's efforts to slash the size of the federal government are embroiled in various lawsuits, court challenges to halt the shutdown of USAID have been unsuccessful so far.—
GARY FIELDS AND ELLEN KNICKMEYER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
arkansasonline.com,
28 Feb. 2025
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The two had been hired to kill Pino’s estranged wife, according to the FBI, though their attempts up to that point had been unsuccessful.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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As teams scale, decision-making can become inefficient and accountability can blur.—
Patrick Donegan,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
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Two critical areas where Kansas struggles are 1) free-throw rate (its 23.9 FTR ranks No. 357 in the nation) and 2) low-volume and inefficient 3-point shooting.—
Tyler Everett,
Newsweek,
3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The higher the number (3 being the maximum and X being ineffective), the more effective that status ailment will be.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 2025
-
Some were ineffective, such as unconscious bias training.—
Jessica Guynn,
USA TODAY,
28 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Counterproductive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterproductive. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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