productive
Americanadjective
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having the power of producing; generative; creative.
a productive effort.
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producing readily or abundantly; fertile.
a productive vineyard.
- Synonyms:
- fecund
- Antonyms:
- sterile
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causing; bringing about (usually followed byof ).
conditions productive of crime and sin.
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Economics. producing or tending to produce goods and services having exchange value.
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Grammar. (of derivational affixes or patterns) readily used in forming new words, as the suffix -ness.
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(in language learning) of or relating to the language skills of speaking and writing (opposed to receptive).
adjective
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producing or having the power to produce; fertile
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yielding favourable or effective results
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economics
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producing or capable of producing goods and services that have monetary or exchange value
productive assets
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of or relating to such production
the productive processes of an industry
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resulting in
productive of good results
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denoting an affix or combining form used to produce new words
Synonym Usage
Productive, fertile, fruitful, prolific apply to the generative aspect of something. Productive refers to a generative source of continuing activity: productive soil; a productive influence. Fertile applies to that in which seeds, literal or figurative, take root: fertile soil; a fertile imagination. Fruitful refers to that which has already produced and is capable of further production: fruitful soil, discovery, theory. Prolific means highly productive: a prolific farm, writer.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of productive
First recorded in 1605–15; from the Medieval Latin word productīvus; see origin at product, -ive
Explanation
If you're productive, that means you do a lot — you create or produce large amounts of something. A productive worker makes more widgets than the shirker who keeps sneaking out to gossip and drink coffee. The word productive often describes a person's capability to do a lot of work, but is can refer to anything that produces a lot. The land in your area might be the most productive in the state, meaning crops grow very well there. Productive can be used more broadly to describe something that produces a positive result. For example, you might have a productive conversation with your mom about your college plans, or you might make a productive investment.
Vocabulary lists containing productive
Labor Day Lexicon: Words That Put You To Work
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The Hate U Give
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Awkward
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If you had known that, maybe you would have cut down on travel and dining out — but thinking like that can lead to shame, which isn’t a productive feeling.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Yet the U.S. unemployment rate overall remains relatively low, and economists remain split on whether the technology will ultimately eliminate jobs or simply make workers more productive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The subsequent two seasons have been less productive, with Foden's function in the City side changing.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
For now, AI is making research labs more productive without changing the metric that matters most: how many successful drugs emerge from each research dollar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Since Fertile Crescent cereals were so productive in the wild, few additional changes had to be made in them under cultivation.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
