Morphemes in “counterproductive”
“counterproductive” has 3 morphemes: counter- + product + -ive.
counter
prefix
+
product
root
+
ive
suffix
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are counter- + product + -ive.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| counter- | derivational prefix | bound | against, in return |
| product | free root | free | commodities offered for sale |
| -ive | derivational suffix | bound | tending to, having the nature of |
How the word is built
product → productive → counterproductive
Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “product” is where the chain starts.
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Prefixes, roots and suffixes with glosses, free and in your browser.
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Segmentation derived from MorphyNet (Batsuren, Bella & Giunchiglia, 2021; CC BY-SA 3.0, built from Wiktionary), with hand-written affix glosses and root meanings from WordNet. Reviewed for classroom use; tell us if you spot an error.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many morphemes are in "counterproductive"?
"counterproductive" has three morphemes: counter- + product + -ive.
How do you break "counterproductive" into morphemes?
counter- + product + -ive. The root is "product"; counter- is a derivational prefix, -ive is a derivational suffix.
What is the root word of "counterproductive"?
The root of "counterproductive" is "product", built up as product → productive → counterproductive.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.