counterproductive.

Having effects that work against the intended purpose.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• counterproductive measure
• counterproductive pressure

On the page

Punishing every reported error proved counterproductive because staff stopped reporting them.

Usage notes

Primary category: economics / business / social science. Forms: Comparative more counterproductive; superlative most counterproductive when comparison is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common.