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
When wells proved unproductive or dry, companies often transferred ownership to landowners who repurposed them as water wells.
—
Alejandra Martinez The Texas Tribune, arkansasonline.com, 9 Feb. 2025
Smith, the president of Local 1, which represents VA employees in California, said his members were angered that the Human Resources Department of the federal government suggested their work caring for veterans was unproductive.
—William Melhado, Sacramento Bee, 6 Feb. 2025
Johnson’s performance during the Speaker election will speak to his ability to wrangle his conference over the next two years, after the last Congress was marked by Republican infighting and unproductive legislative sessions.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 3 Jan. 2025
And under Smith's leadership, Blue was litigious, slow, and unproductive.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unproductive
Alejandra Martinez The Texas Tribune, arkansasonline.com, 9 Feb. 2025
Smith, the president of Local 1, which represents VA employees in California, said his members were angered that the Human Resources Department of the federal government suggested their work caring for veterans was unproductive.
—William Melhado, Sacramento Bee, 6 Feb. 2025
Johnson’s performance during the Speaker election will speak to his ability to wrangle his conference over the next two years, after the last Congress was marked by Republican infighting and unproductive legislative sessions.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 3 Jan. 2025
And under Smith's leadership, Blue was litigious, slow, and unproductive.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unproductive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unproductive
Adjective
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In her first Cowboy Carter teaser during the 2024 Super Bowl, Bey is seen driving a taxi through a barren landscape.—
Rania Aniftos,
Billboard,
19 Feb. 2025
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Is there something about the needy Anja and her ragged child that the barren Isabell responds to?—
Alissa Simon,
Variety,
16 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The robber was unsuccessful in his attempt to take cash from the register and fled the scene.—
Deanese Williams-Harris,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Feb. 2025
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Here’s an example from way back in 2016, which was actually unsuccessful, as Spain’s Iago Aspas bent the ball around him into the far corner.—
Michael Cox,
The Athletic,
18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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In video after video, young people complained about missing their high school graduations and senior proms, of the desolate college campuses that welcomed them and the increasingly precarious economy that waited for them on the other side.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
14 Feb. 2025
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The work follows two soldiers from opposing nations who are stationed at a shared barrack on a desolate border.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
13 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Any reconstruction effort would be futile if a fragile ceasefire in Gaza fails, plunging the territory back to war.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN,
21 Feb. 2025
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Since kids learn by example, Winston notes that telling kids to put down their phones is futile if parents don’t do the same.—
Melissa Willets,
Parents,
10 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Three generations of the Kim family have created a politically repressed and economically impoverished state that is nonetheless a pivotal actor on the global stage.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Feb. 2025
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Now with all these things vanished, along with the bookstores and repertory cinemas, the city seems impoverished and disfigured.—
Adam Gopnik,
The New Yorker,
24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
In the Milky Way’s galactic magnetic field, the force is so weak that a standard compass would be virtually useless.—
Jake Parks,
Discover Magazine,
21 Feb. 2025
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Several pharmacists in São Paulo repeatedly stressed that just a few hours at room temperature renders the medications useless.—
Flávia Milhorance,
New York Times,
15 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Cosgrove, a rookie revelation in 2023, is looking to bounce back after a poor 2024 season.—
Dennis Lin,
The Athletic,
17 Feb. 2025
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Without education, students with disabilities face higher rates of poverty, unemployment, poor health, and social isolation.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
17 Feb. 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 3 Mar. 2025.
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