unproductivelyadv.
/ˌʌnprəˈdʌktᵻvli/, U.S. /ˌənprəˈdəktᵻvli/ In an unproductive manner; without producing anything, or without producing anything useful; unprofitably, uselessly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > uselessness, vanity, or futility > [adverb] > uselessly or unproductively
unfruitfullyc1450
fruitlessly1629
effectless1755
unproductively1793
infructuously1827
resultlessly1839
1793 Brit. Critic Nov. 332 A vast ideal capital, the interest of which is kept in constant circulation, and actual use (instead of being unproductively hoarded) by means of the funds.
a1817 J. Austen Persuasion (1818) IV. viii. 161 The anxious interval wore away unproductively . View more context for this quotation
1886 Pop. Sci. Monthly Feb. 522 The number of men..who are kept idle or unproductively employed.
1915 N.Y. Times Current Hist. Apr. 97/2 Germany has already spent $1,600,000,000 since the war broke out—all unproductively and most of it for destruction.
1994 Chat 5 Feb. 55/1 An affected cat will..sit, straining unproductively, on its litter tray.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adv.1793