disproportionate

[dis-pruh-pawr-shuh-nit]

adjective

1. not proportionate; out of proportion, as in size or number.

disproportionate

adjective

1. out of proportion; unequal

verb

1. chem to undergo or cause to undergo disproportionation

Other Word Forms

• disproportionately adverb
• disproportionateness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of disproportionate¹

First recorded in 1544–55; dis- ¹ + proportionate

Example Sentences

The consultation is based on a Supreme Court judgment this summer which upheld a consumer’s complaint that the relationship with the car dealer, which charged a hidden and disproportionate commission, wasn’t fair.

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A disproportionate share of those businesses, compared with those in other countries, have become global titans.

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So-called insurgent brands now capture a wildly disproportionate share of growth.

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If she’s truly going to run CBS News, it’s easy to imagine Mr. Ellison’s time filled with angry personnel fights disproportionate to any bigger game he’s after, which involves movies, Hollywood and streaming.

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“You definitely want to associate terrorism charges with serious terrorists,” said the investigator, adding that he believes the charges, while legal, are disproportionate.

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Related Words

• excessive 
• inordinate 
• superfluous 
• unequal 
• unreasonable 

When To Use

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.