counterproductive

C2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌkaʊntəpɹəˈdʌktɪv/ See IPA manual

Freq #42684

Meanings

1

adj
Having the opposite effect to the one you intended; doing more harm than good.

Shouting at children is usually counterproductive.

Thesaurus

Opposites

productive

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- Late Latin prō- Proto-Indo-European *dewk- Proto-Indo-European *déwkti Proto-Italic *doukō Late Latin dūcō Late Lati…

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# counterproductive

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌkaʊntəpɹəˈdʌktɪv/
**Frequency rank:** 42684

## Meanings
1. Having the opposite effect to the one you intended; doing more harm than good.

## Examples
- Shouting at children is usually counterproductive.

## Antonyms
- productive

## 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- Late Latin prō- Proto-Indo-European *dewk- Proto-Indo-European *déwkti Proto-Italic *doukō Late Latin dūcō Late Lati…

## AI Etymology
counterproductive's etymology is recorded as a historical chain. The historical chain records Proto-Indo-European *ḱe, Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm, Proto-Italic *kom, Proto-Italic *kom-, Proto-Indo-European *-teros, Proto-Italic *-teros, Proto-Italic *komteros, Proto-Italic *komterād, Latin contrā, Old, French contre-, Anglo-Norman countre-, Middle, English counter-, English counter-, and Proto-Indo-European *per-der.?. Current senses include having the opposite effect to the one you intended; doing more harm than good.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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