disproportion
/dɪspɹəˈpɔːʃən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.92 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The state of being out of proportion; an abnormal or improper ratio; an imbalance.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
Lack of suitableness, adequacy, or due proportion to an end or use; unsuitableness.
Countable; Uncountable
verb
To make unsuitable in quantity, form, or fitness; to violate symmetry in; to mismatch.
Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "[…] a handsome creature, remarkably so, with features so symmetrical […] that a micrometer gauge could scarcely find a disproportion in her smooth and broad mahogany-coloured face."
- "Then we, the social outsiders, turn around and dictate how men shall treat women (seldom, if ever, how women shall treat men; power in men's rather than women's hands being the excuse offered for this lop-sided arrangement), and how whites shall treat blacks (the same disproportion exists here too)."
- "the disproportion of the length of a building to its height"
- "the disproportion of strength or means to an object"
- "To shape my legs of an unequal size; / To disproportion me in every part."
- "a degree of strength altogether disproportioned to the extent of its territory"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ▲ Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu. Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- Proto-Italic *dis- Latin dis- Old French des-bor. ▲ Latin dis-bor. Middle English dis- English dis- English proportion English disproportion From dis- + proportion.
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /dɪspɹəˈpɔːʃən/