exploitive
Taking unfair advantage
Exploitive is a variant of exploitative, meaning taking unfair advantage of someone or something for one's own benefit: exploitive labor practices, an exploitive relationship.
The word carries strongly negative connotations, suggesting selfish use of resources, workers, or vulnerable people.
Both spellings are standard, though exploitative is more common in formal writing.
Domination through foreign settlement
- neocolonialismIndirect foreign domination
- imperialismExtending dominion over others
- apartheidRacial separation policy
- casteInherited social division
patriarchy · structural · institutional · hegemony · subjugation · dispossession · marginalization · disenfranchisement
Exploiting the vulnerable
- coerciveUsing pressure to compel
- calculatingColdly self-serving in strategy
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
- insidiousSubtly destructive over time
underhanded · deceptive · scheming · conniving · grooming · gaslighting · targeting · preying
Strenuous effort; also childbirth
- sweatshopsExploitative manufacturing facilities
- plantationLarge-scale farming operation
- vulnerableOpen to attack
- underpaidGiven inadequate wages
Act of removing
- overfishingUnsustainable marine harvest
- deforestationLarge-scale woodland elimination
- poachingUnlawful wildlife capture
- frackingExtracting gas via pressure
monoculture · depleting · unsustainable · plundering · pillaging · ravaging
colonialism
Domination through foreign settlement
- neocolonialismIndirect foreign domination
- imperialismExtending dominion over others
- apartheidRacial separation policy
caste · patriarchy · structural · institutional · hegemony · subjugation · dispossession · marginalization · disenfranchisement · oppression
predatory
Exploiting the vulnerable
- coerciveUsing pressure to compel
- calculatingColdly self-serving in strategy
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
insidious · underhanded · deceptive · scheming · conniving · grooming · gaslighting · targeting · preying · opportunistic
labor
Strenuous effort; also childbirth
- sweatshopsExploitative manufacturing facilities
- plantationLarge-scale farming operation
- vulnerableOpen to attack
underpaid · overworked · precarious · disposable · expendable
extraction
Act of removing
- overfishingUnsustainable marine harvest
- deforestationLarge-scale woodland elimination
- poachingUnlawful wildlife capture
fracking · monoculture · depleting · unsustainable · plundering · pillaging · ravaging
usury
Extortionate money lending
- monopolisticHaving exclusive market control
- slumlordNegligent low-income housing owner
- scalpingResale at inflated prices
kickbacks · extortionate · gouging · fleecing · bilking · milking · squeezing
exploitivefair
Impartial and unbiased
generous · benevolent · altruistic · empowering · ethical
exploitivemutually beneficial
symbiotic · reciprocal · cooperative · collaborative · equitable
exploitivesustainable
Able to endure long-term
generative · regenerative · enriching · ethical · nurturing
exploit, exploitation, exploiter, exploitative, exploiters, unexploited, overexploitation, overexploit