Word family noun produce producer product production reproduction productivity adjective productive ≠ unproductive counterproductive reproductive reproducible verb produce reproduce adverb productively
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcounterproductivecoun‧ter‧pro‧duc‧tive /ˌkaʊntəprəˈdʌktɪv◂ $ -tər-/ ●○○ adjective FAILachieving the opposite result to the one that you want Sending young offenders to prison can be counterproductive.Examples from the Corpus
counterproductive• Putting very young offenders in prison can be counterproductive.• Being too available can be counterproductive.• Is it not true that giving 17-year-olds fines does not work and sending them to prison is counterproductive?• Thus replication begets replication, until the costs of these counterproductive activities finally bring the organization to a long-delayed breaking point.• This is a false and counterproductive approach; it is to true open-mindedness what glib moral relativism is to genuine tolerance.• Constant correction by a teacher is often counterproductive, as the student may become afraid to speak at all.• Counterpoints may therefore be counterproductive, especially if they are obscure.• A confrontation is really going to be counterproductive for everyone.• It would be counterproductive to do otherwise.From Longman Business Dictionarycounterproductivecoun‧ter‧pro‧duc‧tive /ˌkaʊntəprəˈdʌktɪv-tər-/ adjective having the opposite effect from the one that you intendedIncreasing government spending too quickly can be counterproductive. 