productive
Americanadjective
-
having the power of producing; generative; creative.
a productive effort.
-
producing readily or abundantly; fertile.
a productive vineyard.
- Synonyms:
- fecund
- Antonyms:
- sterile
-
causing; bringing about (usually followed byof ).
conditions productive of crime and sin.
-
Economics. producing or tending to produce goods and services having exchange value.
-
Grammar. (of derivational affixes or patterns) readily used in forming new words, as the suffix -ness.
-
(in language learning) of or relating to the language skills of speaking and writing (opposed to receptive).
adjective
-
producing or having the power to produce; fertile
-
yielding favourable or effective results
-
economics
-
producing or capable of producing goods and services that have monetary or exchange value
productive assets
-
of or relating to such production
the productive processes of an industry
-
-
resulting in
productive of good results
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Hate U Give
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Awkward
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
While Meta has since laid off 1 in 10 of its employees, Anthropic's chief executive Dario Amodei has warned that as AI tools inevitably become more productive, it could mean, external even broader job losses.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
All that AI-coding fluency means is you know how to use AI to be more productive and effective.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
She attributed the results to “pulling on all of the levers of the marketplace,” including optimizing the checkout on Vrbo, cutting inefficient marketing channels and redirecting spending to more productive ones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Only one, outfielder Michael Brantley, developed into a productive major leaguer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026
Declining crime rates, coupled with a decline in public concern about crime, have also helped to create a rare opening for a productive public conversation about the War on Drugs.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
