counterproductive
/ˌkaʊntəpɹəˈdʌktɪv/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.05 in modern English
27
Scrabble Score
17
Letters
5
Syllables
11
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "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."
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.
Inflected Forms
more counterproductive (comparative)
most counterproductive (superlative)
Derived Forms
Phrases
adaptive versus maladaptive
helpful versus unhelpful
useful versus useless
Frequently Paired Words
adaptive versus maladaptive
helpful versus unhelpful
useful versus useless