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
Relevance
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
Such descriptions enliven the book, and capture Shubin’s reverence for both the beauty and the mysteries hidden in the cold, barren tundra.—
The New Yorker,
The New Yorker,
3 Mar. 2025
-
For most of its barren interior, life is an afterthought—nature’s great white void, frozen in time.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes,
2 Mar. 2025
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
-
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
-
This powerful film tells of the friendship between a young man and a peasant farmer who has devoted his life to planting trees throughout his desolate homeland.—
Jeremy Fassler,
Vulture,
2 Mar. 2025
-
Orphaned at 3 years old and robbed of her fortune, she’s dragged aboard a ship sailing for New France by her guardian, only to be abandoned on a desolate island.—
Staff,
The Christian Science Monitor,
20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
For Alok Bansal, a newspaper columnist, the exercise is futile – and threatens to deepen divisions.—
Sushmita Pathak,
The Christian Science Monitor,
3 Mar. 2025
-
Challenging the law again was futile until 2023 when progressives retook a 4–3 majority on the court.—
The Editors,
National Review,
25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
Those assets are useless on a device like the Deck, and take up unnecessary space.—
Jason Evangelho,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
-
In stereotypical rich-TV-family fashion, the ultimate symbol of Baba’s success is that both of his sons are sort of useless.—
Angie Han,
The Hollywood Reporter,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
And another research team, using data from 2015 to 2022, observed in an article available in Energy Research and Social Science that poor income distribution correlates with social unrest when fossil fuel subsidies are removed.—
Aldo Flores-Quiroga,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
-
That poor Texas child is likely not to be the only fatality.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
This anti-waste brand upcycles materials, and was founded by Kisa Sky Shiga.—
Nadja Sayej,
Forbes,
20 Dec. 2022
-
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 13 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share