disproportionate
disproportionate Lexical Profile
• adjective
Too large or too small in comparison with something else; not corresponding in size, degree, amount, or scale.
"Low-income households often spend a disproportionate share of their monthly earnings on basic utilities and housing."
Word Nuance & Usage
'Disproportionate' and 'disproportional' are largely interchangeable, though 'disproportionate' is far more common in contemporary usage, especially when describing policies, impacts, or punishments that are unfairly excessive relative to the cause.
• Rhymes for disproportionate
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the mid-16th century from the prefix 'dis-' and 'proportionate', which derives from Late Latin 'proportionatus', from Latin 'proportio' ('comparative relation, analogy'), formed from the phrase 'pro portione' ('according to each part's share').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.