disproportionate

adjective

dis·​pro·​por·​tion·​ate ˌdis-prə-ˈpȯr-sh(ə-)nət How to pronounce disproportionate (audio)
Synonyms of disproportionate
: being out of proportion
a disproportionate share
disproportionately adverb

Examples of disproportionate in a Sentence

He believes that middle-class people bear a disproportionate share of the tax burden. A disproportionate number of the students are poor.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
With each team playing 26 rather than 22 league fixtures, the hope is that one rogue result or dropped point will no longer have a disproportionate impact on a team’s season. — Megan Feringa, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026 The conversation stuck to the red, white and blue, and not the disproportionate number of Black Americans killed by police that the quarterback tried to bring attention to. — Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 1 Sep. 2026 The toll remains particularly severe in the South Bronx, Harlem, and Central Brooklyn, and Black and Latino New Yorkers and residents of low-income neighborhoods continue to bear a disproportionate share of these preventable deaths. — Joel Teron, New York Daily News, 31 Aug. 2026 Nepal’s foreign minister called for a global response to climate change, saying Nepal was bearing a disproportionate share of its impact. — Victoria Milko, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for disproportionate

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin disprōportiōnātus, past participle of disprōportiōnāre "to make out of proportion," from Latin dis- dis- + Medieval Latin prōportiōnāre "to compose according to proportions" — more at proportion entry 2

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of disproportionate was in 1555

Rhymes for disproportionate

See All Rhymes for disproportionate

Browse Nearby Words

disproportional
disproportionate
disproportionated rosin
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Disproportionate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disproportionate. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

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Kids Definition

disproportionate

adjective
dis·​pro·​por·​tion·​ate ˌdis-prə-ˈpōr-sh(ə-)nət How to pronounce disproportionate (audio)
-ˈpȯr-
: being out of proportion
disproportionately adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on disproportionate

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for disproportionate

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