productive Hear it!

productive definition

pro·duc·tive (prə duk′tiv, prō-)

adjective

  1. producing abundantly; fertile productive soil, a productive mind
  2. marked by abundant production or effective results a productive day
  3. bringing as a result (with of) war is productive of much misery
  4. Econ. of or engaged in the creating of economic value, or the producing of goods and services
  5. Linguis. designating any affix or method which can be and still is used to make new forms “non-” is a productive prefix

Etymology: ML productivus < LL, fit for prolongation < L productus, pp. of producere: see produce

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

business productive definition - business

medical productive definition - medical

productive Synonyms

productive

modif.

rich, fruitful, prolific; see fertile 1, 2.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

productive Usage Examples

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • make: Training Research proves that good quality training helps retain and motivate staff as well as making businesses more productive.

Modifies a noun

  • force: The growth of productive forces created the material premise for a new culture.

Modifying Another Word

  • biologically: The Seas Around Scotland Scotland's seas, positioned between subpolar and subtropical influences, are among the most biologically productive in the world.

Used with adjective complement

  • counter: The cost to SMEs combined with the impending increases to the National Minimum Wage could be counter productive.

Preposition: in

  • term: These latter are extremely productive in value terms relative to the rest of the economy.

Preposition: than

  • farm: Small farms are far more productive than large farms.
productive usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

Link to this page:

Cite this page:

MLA Style

"productive." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/productive>

APA Style

productive. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/productive

Comments:

Please or Register to post a comment