proportional
proportional Lexical Profile
proportional Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Corresponding in size, degree, or intensity to something else; having a due or balanced relative scale.
"The company implemented a bonus structure that is directly proportional to each employee's annual sales performance."
In mathematics, having a constant ratio to another variable quantity.
"At a constant temperature, the pressure of an ideal gas is inversely proportional to its volume."
• noun
In mathematics, any of the quantities or terms forming a geometric or arithmetic proportion.
"The students learned how to calculate the mean proportional between two positive integers."
Word Nuance & Usage
While "proportional" and "proportionate" overlap heavily in general use, "proportional" is strictly required in mathematical, scientific, and political contexts (such as "inversely proportional" or "proportional representation"), whereas "proportionate" is often preferred when emphasizing fairness or appropriateness in scale.
• Rhymes for proportional
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 14th century from Late Latin proportionalis, derived from Latin proportio ("comparative relation, analogy"), from the phrase pro portione meaning "according to each part's share."