counterproductive
adjective/ˌkaʊntərprəˈdʌktɪv/
Frequency rank: #12,374 most common English word
Meaning
having the opposite effect to the one intended; making a situation worse rather than better.
Example sentence
Skipping sleep to study more is often counterproductive, since exhaustion makes it harder to retain information.
Synonyms & related words
- harmful
- detrimental
- self-defeating
- unhelpful
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