disproportionate

adjective

dis·​pro·​por·​tion·​ate ˌdis-prə-ˈpȯr-sh(ə-)nət 

: 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

Other arguments against the elimination of the penny come from economists who say that eliminating the one-cent coin would have disproportionate impacts on the poor. —Chad De Guzman, TIME, 10 Feb. 2025

At the time of his election in 2010, undivided executive power granted the prime minister exceptional authority, and as a result of Hungary’s disproportionate electoral system, Orban’s party, Fidesz, secured a two-thirds majority in the legislature with just 53 percent of the vote. —BÁlint Madlovics, Foreign Affairs, 10 Feb. 2025

As a result, quite small groups of bipartisan moderates could unite and exercise disproportionate influence. —Clive Crook, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2025

The infant and maternal mortality rates and the disproportionate effect on women of color coming out of Louisiana are horrific. —Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 4 Feb. 2025

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

Kids Definition

disproportionate

adjective

dis·​pro·​por·​tion·​ate ˌdis-prə-ˈpōr-sh(ə-)nət 

-ˈpȯr-

: being out of proportion

disproportionately adverb