productive

[pruh-duhk-tiv]

adjective

1. having the power of producing; generative; creative.

   a productive effort.

2. producing readily or abundantly; fertile.

   a productive vineyard.

   Synonyms: fecund, fecund
   Antonyms: sterile, sterile

3. causing; bringing about (usually followed byof ).

   conditions productive of crime and sin.

4. Economics.,  producing or tending to produce goods and services having exchange value.

5. Grammar.,  (of derivational affixes or patterns) readily used in forming new words, as the suffix -ness.

6. (in language learning) of or relating to the language skills of speaking and writing (receptive ).

productive

/ prəˈdʌktɪv /

adjective

1. producing or having the power to produce; fertile

2. yielding favourable or effective results

3. economics

   1. producing or capable of producing goods and services that have monetary or exchange value

      productive assets

   2. of or relating to such production

      the productive processes of an industry

4. resulting in

   productive of good results

5. denoting an affix or combining form used to produce new words

Other Word Forms

• productively adverb
• productiveness noun
• productivity noun
• antiproductive adjective
• antiproductively adverb
• semiproductive adjective
• semiproductively adverb
• unproductive adjective
• unproductively adverb
• unproductiveness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of productive¹

First recorded in 1605–15; from the Medieval Latin word productīvus; product, -ive

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

A CIA summary would call this “the most productive classic clandestine operation ever conducted by CIA and MI6 against the Soviet target.”

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This would seem to be an especially good time to find a way to enforce the law without deporting nonviolent, productive people.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Government shutdowns are rarely productive, but letting them cripple national travel is daft.

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“The structural damage caused by tariffs is reducing our productive capacity and adding costs. This limits the ability of monetary policy to boost demand while maintaining low inflation.”

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Going toe-to-toe with Kyrgios from the baseline is unlikely to be productive, so trying to make him move around the court - particularly given his fitness worries - would look to be the smart play.

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Related Words

• advantageous 
• beneficial 
• constructive 
• dynamic 
• effective 
• energetic 
• fertile 
• gratifying 
• profitable 
• prolific 
• rewarding 
• useful 
• valuable 
• vigorous 
• worthwhile