disproportionate
Americanadjective
adjective
verb
Usage
What does disproportionate mean? Disproportionate means uneven or out of balance with something in terms of size, ratio, degree, or extent. Disproportionate is the opposite of proportionate. Proportionate is the adjective form of the noun proportion, which refers to the relative size of two or more things. When something is described as disproportionate to something else, it means they are somehow unevenly matched. Example: The military response—striking a dozen different sites with missiles—has been criticized as disproportionate to the act that supposedly provoked it—a single plane briefly entering a no-fly zone.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disproportionate
First recorded in 1544–55; dis- 1 + proportionate
Explanation
If three friends are out having dinner, and one disappears when the check comes, the remaining two end up paying a disproportionate share of the bill. Whenever anything is out of proportion — either too large or too small — it's disproportionate. If you live in New York or Los Angeles or another very expensive city, you probably spend a disproportionate amount of your income on housing — meaning you pay more than you'd expect. If you have a sweet deal somewhere and pay very little in rent, it's still disproportionate — only this time it's less than you'd expect.
Vocabulary lists containing disproportionate
Power Prefix: dis-
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President Trump's Second State of the Union Address (2019)
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President Trump's First Address to the United Nations General Assembly (2017)
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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.
The women described the fines and penalties system as "extremely disproportionate" and said it cost them thousands of pounds.
From BBC • May 5, 2026
Sarah Corden, the research and policy director for the farmer-led watchdog organization Farm Action, said that the disproportionate aid payments and murky framework are “fairly typical,” but called the rollout “problematic.”
From Salon • Apr. 25, 2026
Ruger says Beretta wants to buy shares on the cheap and grab a disproportionate number of board seats in a creeping takeover.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
Many observers have long argued that pharmaceutical companies devote disproportionate resources to variations of their top-selling drugs with limited incremental benefits, rather than pursuing entirely new treatments.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026
But Van Rensburg was in a class by himself, and we believed that if he were gone, it would make a disproportionate difference for all of us.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
