Dictionary

counterproductive en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˌkaʊntəpɹəˈdʌktɪv/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Proto-Indo-European *-teros Proto-Italic *-teros Proto-Italic *komterosder. Proto-Italic *komterād Latin contrāder. Old French contre- Anglo-Norman countre-bor. Middle English counter- English counter- Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *pér Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *pró Proto-Indo-European *pro- Proto-Italic *pro- Latin prō- Proto-Indo-European *dewk- Proto-Indo-European *déwkti Proto-Italic *doukō Latin dūcō Latin prōdūcō Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin -īvus Late Latin prōductīvusbor. English productive English counterproductive From counter- + productive.

Meanings

1. More of a hindrance than a help.
   • It's most likely that these kinds of cuts to service frequencies, train formations, and service start and finish times would cost more in revenue than they save in cost and would therefore be counterproductive. 2022 January 12, Sir Michael Holden, “Reform of the workforce or death by a thousand cuts?”, in RAIL, number 948, page 25:
   • The curse has been Spanish ineptitude feeding Gibraltarian intransigence. Border hold-ups are counterproductive to winning hearts and minds, as were blundering Argentinian landings on the outer Falklands. 2013 August 14, Simon Jenkins, “Gibraltar and the Falklands deny the logic of history”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 22 Apr 2021:

Forms

Antonyms

productive

Deriveds

counterproductiveness · counterproductively

Relateds

adaptive versus maladaptive · helpful versus unhelpful · useful versus useless

Translations (41)

fr contre-productif (more of a hindrance than a help) · sv kontraproduktiv (more of a hindrance than a help) · ig imebi (more of a hindrance than a help) · ro contraproductiv (more of a hindrance than a help) · ta எதிர் விளைவுகளைத்தான் (more of a hindrance than a help) · cmn 產生反作用的 /产生反作用的 (more of a hindrance than a help) · cmn 適得其反 /适得其反 (more of a hindrance than a help) · sq antiproduktiv (more of a hindrance than a help) · ka კონტრპროდუქტიული (more of a hindrance than a help) · ar نَتَائِج عَكْسِيَّة (more of a hindrance than a help) · pl kontrproduktywny (more of a hindrance than a help) · uk контрпродукти́вний (more of a hindrance than a help) · fi haitallinen (more of a hindrance than a help) · ky каршылыктуу (more of a hindrance than a help) · gl contraproducente (more of a hindrance than a help) · ja 反生産的 (more of a hindrance than a help) · fr contreproductif (more of a hindrance than a help) · nl averechts (more of a hindrance than a help) · pl przeciwskuteczny (more of a hindrance than a help) · es contraproducente (more of a hindrance than a help) · cmn 反效果的 (more of a hindrance than a help) · sh kontraproduktivan (more of a hindrance than a help) · be контрпрадукты́ўны (more of a hindrance than a help) · eo kontraŭintenca (more of a hindrance than a help) · ceb kontra-produktibo (more of a hindrance than a help) · id kontraproduktif (more of a hindrance than a help) · es contraproductivo (more of a hindrance than a help) · ca contraproduent (more of a hindrance than a help) · hu kontraproduktív (more of a hindrance than a help) · de kontraproduktiv (more of a hindrance than a help) · da kontraproduktiv (more of a hindrance than a help) · it controproducente (more of a hindrance than a help) · eo malefika (more of a hindrance than a help) · el αντιπαραγωγικός (more of a hindrance than a help) · ru контрпродукти́вный (more of a hindrance than a help) · bg контрапродукти́вно (more of a hindrance than a help) · pt contraprodutivo (more of a hindrance than a help) · af teenproduktief (more of a hindrance than a help) · ht kontreproduktiv (more of a hindrance than a help) · cs kontraproduktivní (more of a hindrance than a help) · mk контрапродуктивен (more of a hindrance than a help)