Hardscrabble and Unproductive

Hardscrabble

Hardscrabble adjective - Producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation.
Usage example: it was hard to eke out even a bare existence on the hardscrabble lands

Unproductive and hardscrabble are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Unproductive" instead an adjective "Hardscrabble".

Unproductive

Unproductive adjective - Producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation.
Usage example: crop rotation had prevented the farmland from becoming unproductive

Hardscrabble and unproductive are semantically related. You can use "Hardscrabble" instead an adjective "Unproductive".
Cite this Source
Unproductive and Hardscrabble. (2017). Retrieved 2026, August 01, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/hardscrabble/unproductive
Hardscrabble & Unproductive. N.p., 2017. Web. 01 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/hardscrabble/unproductive>.
Unproductive or Hardscrabble. 2017. Accessed August 01, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/hardscrabble/unproductive.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "hardscrabble" and "unproductive" have occurred on timeline