counterproductively
- adverb
- /ˌkaʊntərprəˈdʌktɪvli/
:
contraproducentemente
- When trying to motivate the team, his harsh criticism was delivered counterproductively, leaving them feeling demoralized.
Examples
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The new policy was intended to improve productivity but ended up being implemented counterproductively, causing confusion among employees.
-
It is certainly possible for the military to waste money or to spend money counterproductively, and indeed it has.
Blog text (29) -
Or, as Professor Koppelman has asked, can a government police pornography without counterproductively sweeping in material that may help preserve families?
Academic text (2008) -
Indeed, some economists argued that debt reduction would counterproductively persuade other borrowers to stop making payments in pursuit of a better deal.
Blog text (21) -
That is because the prevailing prescriptions for responding to those changes within labor and employment law might counterproductively speed up automation-related job losses and thus exacerbate the challenge of automation.
Academic text (2018) -
In the 1991 general elections, according to Brass, efforts by Muslims in Uttar Pradesh to accomplish this generally failed, and in some instances acted counterproductively "to polarize an opposite Hindu vote, which worked in favor of the BJP."
Academic text (1995) -
She thought she was helping her friend by giving advice, but her suggestions were counterproductively making the situation worse.
Synonyms
9
7.5
Doing the opposite of what people expect or want on purpose
1
7.2
In a way that harms people or things
In a way that makes things worse for someone
Antonyms
How Counterproductive
Surface Forms
Morphology
counterproductively = counterproductive (transparent) = counter + product + ive + ly
A regular adverbial formation from the adjective 'counterproductive' by adding '-ly'.
Etymology
The word counterproductively is built from counter- meaning 'against', productive meaning 'making things', and -ly which turns it into 'in a way'. So, to act counterproductively is to do something 'in a way' that works against the result you want and has the opposite effect of what you intended.