nonproductive
adjective
non·pro·duc·tive
ˌnän-prə-ˈdək-tiv 
: not productive: such as
a
: failing to produce or yield : unproductive
a nonproductive oil well
b
: not directly concerned with production
the nonproductive labor of clerks and inspectors
c
of a cough
: dry sense 3a
nonproductiveness
noun
Examples of nonproductive in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Bring The Office Closer To Them As populations grow, the real challenge of coming to the office is long commute times and the resulting nonproductive cycles.
—
Expert Panel®, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
Since health care is often treated as a resource-dependent, nonproductive sector, in order to get things done, the Ministry of Health must negotiate with other central bureaucracies or call on superiors to intervene in cross-sector bargaining.
—Yanzhong Huang, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2011
Buoyed by the early promise of its Dravet therapeutic, the company developed a second drug candidate, STK-002, that similarly targets splicing to turn nonproductive gene transcripts into constructive ones.
—Elie Dolgin, Discover Magazine, 26 Apr. 2023
Remove all twiggy, dead or nonproductive growth.
—oregonlive, 8 Mar. 2022
But will this calculation include all the opportunity cost of the expenditure of nonproductive effort?
—WSJ, 16 Aug. 2022
In this framework, nonproductive bodies and ways of living become illegitimate in some way.
—John Patrick Leary, The New Republic, 6 Aug. 2021
Patients have what appear to be the typical symptoms of Covid-19: a nonproductive cough, chest tightness, and in some cases some mild gastrointestinal symptoms — usually nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
—Lisa Sanders, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2020
The highways will be crowded with hunters, but waiting until the following weekend of Oct. 26-27 might be nonproductive.
—John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 7 Oct. 2019
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Expert Panel®, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
Since health care is often treated as a resource-dependent, nonproductive sector, in order to get things done, the Ministry of Health must negotiate with other central bureaucracies or call on superiors to intervene in cross-sector bargaining.
—Yanzhong Huang, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2011
Buoyed by the early promise of its Dravet therapeutic, the company developed a second drug candidate, STK-002, that similarly targets splicing to turn nonproductive gene transcripts into constructive ones.
—Elie Dolgin, Discover Magazine, 26 Apr. 2023
Remove all twiggy, dead or nonproductive growth.
—oregonlive, 8 Mar. 2022
But will this calculation include all the opportunity cost of the expenditure of nonproductive effort?
—WSJ, 16 Aug. 2022
In this framework, nonproductive bodies and ways of living become illegitimate in some way.
—John Patrick Leary, The New Republic, 6 Aug. 2021
Patients have what appear to be the typical symptoms of Covid-19: a nonproductive cough, chest tightness, and in some cases some mild gastrointestinal symptoms — usually nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
—Lisa Sanders, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2020
The highways will be crowded with hunters, but waiting until the following weekend of Oct. 26-27 might be nonproductive.
—John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 7 Oct. 2019
Dictionary Entries Near nonproductive
Cite this Entry
“Nonproductive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonproductive. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
nonproductive
adjective
non·pro·duc·tive
ˌnän-prə-ˈdək-tiv
1
: failing to produce : unproductive
a nonproductive oil well
2
: not directly productive
nonproductive labor
Medical Definition
nonproductive
adjective
non·pro·duc·tive
-prə-ˈdək-tiv
of a cough
: not effective in raising mucus or exudate from the respiratory tract : dry sense 2
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share