unproductiveun‧pro‧duct‧ive /ˌʌnprəˈdʌktɪv◂/ adjective 
Examples
an unproductive meeting
ExamplesEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- It was a very unproductive meeting.
- It was one of those unproductive confrontations between students and senior members of the university.
- The meeting was long and noisy, but unproductive.
- As a consequence land has become unproductive as unpalatable weeds have replaced nutritious fodder.
- Cabinet meetings had grown so unproductive and depressing that we had to plead with the President to schedule them.
- Even after an unproductive third quarter, the Raiders still led 14-13.
- It could hardly be said that Mrs Bush had led a frivolous or unproductive life.
- Lots of smart people are interested in the problems of unhealthy and unproductive workplaces and what to do about them.
- Some departments achieve very high publication figures, whereas others turn out large numbers of unproductive researchers.
- That is to say that savings are a function of the rate of profit and unproductive consumption.
- To suggest that all unproductive consumption is solely capitalist personal consumption is to go beyond the bounds of credibility.
Longman Language Activatorwhen a plan or attempt fails► fail
Word family if a plan or attempt fails , it does not achieve what you want it to achieve: · They said the latest space mission was bound to fail.· Try changing the spark plugs, but if that fails take the car to a mechanic.fail to do something: · The investigation failed to establish the cause of the accident.something never fails: · The only way I can make her help me is to pretend I don't want her help. It never fails.
► failure when a plan or attempt fails : failure of: · The failure of the peace talks has led to increased tension on the streets.end/result in failure: · Their first attempt to climb Mount Everest ended in failure.
► not succeed to fail: · Hoover's attempts to boost the economy did not succeed.· I argued that neither strategy could succeed.not succeed in doing something: · The campaign might not succeed in eliminating the disease, but it would make people think about health and hygiene.
► unsuccessful an unsuccessful attempt to do something does not have the result that you wanted: · The army made an unsuccessful attempt to end the rebellion.· I regret to inform you that your application was unsuccessful.
► vain: vain attempt/effort/search a serious attempt, effort etc that is completely unsuccessful: · I remembered all my vain attempts to change his mind.· He stretched up his arms in a vain effort to reach the top of the embankment.
► fruitless: fruitless attempt/search/effort etc one that fails completely to bring the result that you want: · I spent the next three hours in a fruitless search of her room.· After weeks of fruitless argument they finally agreed to go their separate ways.· Their attempt to settle the dispute by peaceful negotiations proved fruitless.
► unproductive a meeting, discussion etc that is unproductive produces very few good results: · The meeting was long and noisy, but unproductive.· It was one of those unproductive confrontations between students and senior members of the university.
► be a failure to be unsuccessful - use this especially about something that fails even though it was very carefully planned: · The government's expensive election campaign had been a failure.be a complete/total failure: · There was a 5-year plan to modernize the economy, but it was a complete failure.
► go wrong if a planned attempt to do something goes wrong , it fails after it has started well: · The experiment went wrong when the chemicals combined to form a poisonous gas.go badly wrong British (=fail completely): · The rescue attempt went badly wrong when the building collapsed.
► not work if a method or attempt does not work , it fails because it is not suitable or not right for the situation you are in: · I tried to fix it with glue, but that didn't work.not work with: · Teaching methods that work with adults do not always work with children.
► do no good if something you do to try to help or deal with a problem does no good , it does not have any useful effect: · Calm down Robyn. Getting hysterical will do no good.· You can try and persuade her to change her mind, but I don't think it'll do any good.do no good whatsoever (=have no useful effect at all): · Judges expect a certain level of competence, so staging a little-girl-lost act in court will do no good whatsoever.
► fall through if a plan, arrangement, or deal falls through , something stops it from happening, with the result that people are disappointed: · The deal fell through because they couldn't get enough money from the bank.· It was unbelievable -- it took two years to set the whole thing up and it fell through at the last minute!
► be dead in the water if a business or political plan is dead in the water, it has failed completely, almost before it has even started - used especially in newspapers: · Their election campaign now appears to be dead in the water.
WORD FAMILYnounproduceproducerproductproductionreproductionproductivityadjectiveproductive ≠ unproductivecounterproductivereproductivereproducibleverbproducereproduceadverbproductively
not achieving very much: an unproductive meeting