How to Use counterproductive in a Sentence

counterproductive

adjective
  • His uncontrollable anger is very counterproductive to his attempt at saving his marriage.
  • But this may have been counterproductive, at least for the penguin colonies.
    — Joshua Rapp Learn, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2025
  • Blackstock said the two-case rule is counterproductive on that front.
    — Eric Umansky, ProPublica, 2 Apr. 2021
  • And her presence won’t help, and could be counterproductive, in red states.
    — Noah Bierman, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2021
  • In fact, trying to suck the venom out of a snake bite is counterproductive.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2024
  • The guys that are rehabbing are on their own right now, which to me seems very counterproductive here.
    — Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2022
  • The point is, stuff is getting out and that's counterproductive.
    — Fox News, 16 May 2018
  • Adding stuff that will eat up even more of that precious resource seems counterproductive.
    — Leia Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 9 July 2021
  • Still, many fear such programs are counterproductive to trust.
    — Sara Miller Llana, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 June 2017
  • But that came to be seen as tainted by racial bias and counterproductive because drug use is treatable.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 8 Feb. 2022
  • But in my own case, policing schoolyard taunts would have been counterproductive.
    — Spencer A. Klavan, The Atlantic, 16 Aug. 2019
  • That would be one way to get your mind off her because sitting around thinking about her is counterproductive.
    — Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 18 Aug. 2020
  • Yet his play was so counterproductive last season as to warrant some kind of penalty.
    — Rob Mahoney, SI.com, 9 Sep. 2019
  • And winning 13-nil, in the grand scheme of things, can be counterproductive to the growth of the sport.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 June 2019
  • The move might seem counterproductive to some, but being at the top has its advantages.
    — Sean Joseph Outkick, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026
  • What used to feel impactful now feels out of touch and sometimes even counterproductive.
    — Ryan Smith, Newsweek, 16 Dec. 2024
  • But that approach is often counterproductive in the long term.
    — Nathan Mor, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
  • But don’t rob a bank, because that’s counterproductive.
    — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025
  • Then, they were recast as a counterproductive idea, not-so-nobly inflicted by start-ups.
    — Elise Taylor, Vogue, 21 Aug. 2018
  • This is counterproductive as these complex products need a great deal of capital to cross the chasm.
    — Susan Akbarpour, Forbes, 2 Sep. 2021
  • Most smug articles and books that claim to provide quick fixes come off as tone-deaf or even counterproductive.
    — Anna Holmes, The Atlantic, 27 May 2026
  • The result is constant guilt about our choices and that is counterproductive.
    — Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 20 Dec. 2022
  • But a campaign to change the language of disease, based on the urge to do something, could be counterproductive.
    — Benjamin Mazer, The Atlantic, 17 Aug. 2022
  • Still, experts agree that waiting to time the market can be counterproductive.
    — Alexis Christoforous, ABC News, 10 Feb. 2023
  • Some argue that pulling out of Georgia would be counterproductive to the cause and harm workers.
    — Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2021
  • Trump’s threats to attack Iran are counterproductive You’re all caught up.
    — Ellen Mitchell, The Hill, 8 Apr. 2025
  • A lot of people may see hair trimming as counterproductive when trying to gain length, but Afro hair needs to be trimmed.
    — Sheilla Mamona, Glamour, 8 Aug. 2022
  • But making racers sit on their hands time and time again in a game that can be as thrilling as Onrush seems counterproductive.
    — Sam MacHkovech, Ars Technica, 5 June 2018
  • Making changes to the terms of a relationship or to your routines can be counterproductive in the long run.
    — Tribune Content Agency, oregonlive.com, 6 June 2019
  • This is just how the hackers like it and is proving to be a counterproductive decision in hindsight.
    — Edward Segal, Forbes, 31 May 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'counterproductive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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