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Definition of productive - 5 dictionary results

pro⋅duc⋅tive

  [pruh-duhk-tiv]
Use productive in a Sentence
–adjective
1. having the power of producing; generative; creative: a productive effort.
2. producing readily or abundantly; fertile: a productive vineyard.
3. causing; bringing about (usually fol. by of): conditions productive of crime and sin.
4. Economics. producing or tending to produce goods and services having exchange value.
5. Grammar. (of derivational affixes or patterns) readily used in forming new words, as the suffix -ness.
6. (in language learning) of or pertaining to the language skills of speaking and writing (opposed to receptive ).
Origin:
1605–15; < ML productīvus. See product, -ive

Related forms:
pro⋅duc⋅tive⋅ly, adverb
pro⋅duc⋅tive⋅ness, noun
pro⋅duc⋅tiv⋅i⋅ty  [proh-duhk-tiv-i-tee] , noun

Synonyms:
2. fecund. Productive, fertile, fruitful, prolific apply to the generative aspect of something. Productive refers to a generative source of continuing activity: productive soil; a productive influence. Fertile applies to that in which seeds, literal or figurative, take root: fertile soil; a fertile imagination. Fruitful refers to that which has already produced and is capable of further production: fruitful soil, discovery, theory. Prolific means highly productive: a prolific farm, writer.

Antonyms:
2. sterile.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To productive
pro·duc·tive   (prə-dŭk'tĭv, prō-)   
adj.  

  1. Producing or capable of producing.

  2. Producing abundantly; fertile. See Synonyms at fertile.

  3. Yielding favorable or useful results; constructive.

  4. Economics Of or involved in the creation of goods and services to produce wealth or value.

  5. Effective in achieving specified results; originative: policies productive of much harm.

  6. Medicine

    1. Producing mucus or sputum: a productive cough.

    2. Forming new tissue: a productive inflammation.

    3. Of or relating to the linguistic skills of speaking and writing.

    4. Of or relating to a linguistic element or rule that can be used to form further examples of a particular feature or pattern. The English past tense suffix -ed is productive since it continues to be added to new verbs to form the past tense.

  7. Linguistics

    1. Of or relating to the linguistic skills of speaking and writing.

    2. Of or relating to a linguistic element or rule that can be used to form further examples of a particular feature or pattern. The English past tense suffix -ed is productive since it continues to be added to new verbs to form the past tense.

pro·duc'tive·ly adv., pro·duc'tive·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

productive 
1612, from Fr. productif (16c.), from M.L. productivus "fit for production," from L. productus, pp. of producere (see produce). Productivity is from 1809 with meaning "quality of being productive;" economic sense of "rate of output per unit" is from 1899.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: pro·duc·tive
Pronunciation: pr&-'d&k-tiv, prO-
Function: adjective
: raising mucus or sputum (as from the bronchi)—used of a cough productive cough and chest pain —California Medicine>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

productive pro·duc·tive (prə-dŭk'tĭv, prō-)
adj.

  1. Producing or capable of producing mucus or sputum.

  2. Forming new tissue, as of an inflammation.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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