disproportion
Americannoun
-
lack of proportion; lack of proper relationship in size, number, etc..
architectural disproportions.
-
something out of proportion.
the disproportions of an awkward body.
verb (used with object)
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disproportions,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disproportioned,
past participle, past
-
disproportioning
present participle
noun
-
lack of proportion or equality
-
an instance of disparity or inequality
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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disproportionablenessnoun
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disproportionableadjective
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disproportionaladjective
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disproportionablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disproportionsimple
-
disproportionssimple
-
have disproportionedperfect
-
has disproportionedperfect
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am disproportioningprogressive
-
are disproportioningprogressive
-
is disproportioningprogressive
-
have been disproportioningperfect progressive
-
has been disproportioningperfect progressive
Past
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disproportionedsimple
-
had disproportionedperfect
-
was disproportioningprogressive
-
were disproportioningprogressive
-
had been disproportioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disproportion
1545–55; dis- 1 + proportion; compare Middle French disproportion
Explanation
If you don’t think you got a fair share of cake at a birthday party, there might have been a disproportion in the way the cake was served. A disproportion is a lack of balance or equality. Disproportion contains the prefix dis- which means “not” or “away from,” and the noun proportion which means “a proper, equal share.” Therefore, disproportion refers to an unequal and improper share. This noun is usually used in a negative context to point out something that is imbalanced or unfair, such as a disproportion of funds, food, or freedoms. Disproportion is also used in reference to the body; if your feet seem too big, they are in disproportion to your body.
Vocabulary lists containing disproportion
"A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury
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The Prince and The Pauper
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A Dance with Dragons
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“It is not a great disproportion between ourselves and others which produces envy, but on the contrary, a proximity,” wrote David Hume, the 18th-century philosopher and economist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
That disproportion slights the postwar failure of his push to make a Christian Sparta among citizens more devoted to making money and buying consumer goods.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 11, 2022
In this past week’s election, this sense of disproportion helped bolster Balad, a small Arab party that won three times more votes in Lod than the other Arab-led parties combined.
From New York Times ● Nov. 5, 2022
"There was a kind of disproportion," said Laure Khalil, the lawyer representing more than 100 of them.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2022
His loyalty extended without disproportion to things, the patient, obstinate, reliable things that we use and get used to, the things we live by.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
In recent years, however, the disproportions have grown even more extreme.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2023
“However, these programs do not constitute a proper and comprehensive response. The industry needs to be compensated for the disproportions and restore some balance to the ecosystem.”
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 24, 2021
Paradoxically, because advertisers can no longer target by age or gender, they have little recourse to remedy these disproportions.
From Salon ● Dec. 15, 2019
It offers one of the most remarkable disproportions between the precise personalism of its action and the overwhelming scope of its achievement.
From The New Yorker ● Jul. 8, 2015
The object of this bill is to correct those monstrous disproportions, and to bring the legal order of society into something like harmony with the natural order.
From Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches — Volume 4 by Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron Macaulay
Dr. Mensendieck calls the dancing legs of the late Anna Pavlova monstrously disproportioned.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Indeed, sir!" said Gleeson, with a mixture of surprise and agitation greatly disproportioned to the intelligence.
From The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. I (of II) by Charles James Lever
His hands and feet were equally disproportioned to his frame, and his arms were so long that he could touch his ankles while standing upright.
From Auriol or, The Elixir of Life by W. Harrison Ainsworth
Nearly all the great historic characters are impossible monsters, disproportioned by flattery, or by calumny deformed.
From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 3 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Lectures by Robert Green Ingersoll
Foreigners often mistake New Englandisms for Americanisms; the energy, importance, and prominency of the people of the former portion of the country, giving them an influence that is disproportioned to their numbers.
From The Chainbearer Or, The Littlepage Manuscripts by James Fenimore Cooper
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
