proportionally

American  

[pruh-pawr-shuh-nuhl-ee] / prəˈpɔr ʃə nəl i /

adverb

1. in a way or to an extent that maintains proportion relative to something else.

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Explanation

Use the adverb proportionally when you're comparing the size or amount of one thing to another. If there’s a park on every block where you live, your town has proportionally more public parks than the average town of its size. The US Congress is proportionally representative, so states with more people get more representatives. In other words, each state gets a number of representatives that corresponds to its population. The adverb proportionally comes from its related adjective, proportional and noun proportion. Both words have a Latin root, proportionem, which means "comparative relation or analogy" and stems from the phrase pro portione, or "according to the relation of parts to each other."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

proportionally

The study found that depression and anxiety increased proportionally with deprivation levels.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

That’s actually not a lot of speechifying if you look at it proportionally.

From Salon ● May 28, 2026

County’s population is more than 10 times that of San Francisco County, a net loss of 100,000 Angelenos would be proportionally similar to losing 10,000 San Franciscans.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026

“Let’s say you’re an American who expects that as our country gets richer, your income should be going up” proportionally, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026

At this bush meeting we agreed in principle on a five-year government of national unity in which all parties polling over 5 percent in a general election would be proportionally represented in the cabinet.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela