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.
I remember first seeing Steve Witkoff in person in May 2024, when he was spending a disproportionate amount of time in a criminal courtroom in Lower Manhattan that had seen better days.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
AliExpress criticised the "disproportionate" fine in a statement, which "does not adequately reflect our established framework and the significant, proactive enhancements we have made".
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
Bank executives have pushed back on the idea of disproportionate financial stress among lower-income Americans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Black women have suffered a disproportionate amount of this pain; more than 300,000 have left the labor force since June 2025.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
In Utah, as elsewhere, teen drivers caused a disproportionate number of crashes.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
