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

The tech industry and a disproportionate number of start-ups are in the San Francisco Bay Area. —Bill Gurley, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026

Iran has suffered the disproportionate number of loses in the current war, both in terms of human casualties and depleted weaponry. —Will Walldorf, The Conversation, 1 Apr. 2026

The celebration is also drawing attention to disproportionate levels of hardship and discrimination the community faces, according to GLAAD, an LGBTQ media advocacy group. —Brooke Migdon, PEOPLE, 1 Apr. 2026

But the brief, costly, impractical service still became one of the most romanticized episodes in American history—a legacy wildly disproportionate to its lifespan. —Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Apr. 2026

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

Rhymes for disproportionate

• extortionate
• proportionate

Kids Definition

disproportionate

adjective

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

-ˈpȯr-

: being out of proportion

disproportionately adverb