disproportion
Americannoun
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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)
noun
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lack of proportion or equality
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an instance of disparity or inequality
verb
Other Word Forms
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.
“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
That doesn’t mean selling exceptional museum art to rectify the disproportion makes sense.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
