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proportion Definition

pro·por·tion (prə pôr′s̸hən, prō-)

noun

  1. the comparative relation between parts, things, or elements with respect to size, amount, degree, etc.; ratio
  2. a part, share, or portion, esp. in its relation to the whole; quota
  3. relationship between parts or things; esp., harmonious, proper, or desirable relationship; balance or symmetry
  4. size, degree, or extent relative to a standard
  5. dimensions a building of large proportions
  6. Math.
    1. an equality between ratios; relationship between four quantities in which the quotient of the first divided by the second is equal to that of the third divided by the fourth (Ex.: 6 is to 2 as 9 is to 3)
    2. rule of three

Etymology: ME proporcioun < MFr proporcion < L proportio < pro, for + portio, part: see portion

transitive verb

  1. to cause to be in proper relation, harmony, or balance to proportion the punishment to the crime
  2. to arrange the parts of (a whole) so as to be harmonious or properly balanced

proportion Related Forms
pro·por′·tion·ment noun
proportion Synonyms

proportion

n.

balance, symmetry, relationship, dimension; see balance 2. See syn. study at symmetry.

proportion Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • population: A smaller proportion of the population than regularly buys singles.
  • respondent: Anyway, the single factor that the largest proportion of respondents cited was commercial success.
  • household: However, the proportion of poor households placed in this category has fallen from 55 to 31 per cent.
  • pupil: The proportion of Bangladeshi pupils in the schools ranged from 11 % to 59 % .
  • patient: Primary breast cancer may spread to the liver in a significant proportion of patients.
  • workforce: For some sectors the proportion of the workforce who are managers is positively linked to TFP levels.

Converse of object

  • reach: The message from Bogotá The world's transport crisis has reached such catastrophic proportions that road crashes now kill more people than malaria.
  • increase: We have rightly increased the proportion of new housing built on brownfield sites to 60 per cent.
  • represent: Black workers already represent a high proportion of the low paid sector.
  • vary: Of course, many types of work combine these four elements in varying proportions.
  • assume: Spread The diameter of a diamond or the normal weight equivalent assuming ideal proportions.
  • constitute: Juvenile gadoids constituted a significant proportion of the catch.

Adjective modifier

  • significant: Proof you need significant proportion of the country is.
  • substantial: But all the same he loses quite a substantial proportion of his income.
  • high: Mouth cancers have a higher proportion of deaths per number of cases than breast cancer, cervical cancer or skin melanoma.
  • large: Baby's diapers account for a large proportion of waste sent for disposal.
  • sizeable: SBS are likely to provide a sizeable proportion of the applications needed.
  • small: A small proportion of the students wear track suits with the school badge, most wear everyday clothes.

Noun used with modifier

  • epidemic: Information: The problem of obesity has taken on epidemic proportions over the last few years.
  • epic: In this darkly funny play the intellectual rivalries in a small university town take on epic proportions.
proportion Quotes

Why should I let the toad work Squat on my life? Can't I use my wit as a pitchfork And drive the brute off? Six days of the week it soils With its sickening poisonö Just for paying a few bills! That's out of proportion.

—Larkin, Philip Arthur

Hesitation increases in relation to risk in equal proportion to age.

—Hemingway, Ernest Millar

Time spent on any item of the agenda will be in inverse proportion to the sum involved.

—Parkinson, C(yril) Northcote

To write music is to raise a ladder without a wall to lean it against. There is no scaffolding: the building under construction is held in balance only by the miracle of a kind of internal logic, an innate sense of proportion.

—Honegger, Arthur

It is that cricket field that, in all the sharp and bitter moments of life as they come to me now, gives me a sense of wholesome proportion: 'At least I am not playing cricket!'

—Powys,John Cowper

L'a"  me se raffine a'   mesure qu'elle se ga"  te. The soul refines itself in proportion to how it spoils itself.

—Marivaux, Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de

There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.

—Bacon, Francis,Viscount St Albans