proportion

Bridgezipf 4.11

Pronunciation

/prəˈpɔːʃən/(pruh-POR-shun)

Part of speech

nounneutral

Chinese

比例；部分（某一整体中某部分相对于其他部分或整体的大小关系）

Definition

A part or share of a whole; a relationship between the sizes of two things; a balanced relationship.

Word family

  • proportional/prəˈpɔːʃənəl/(adj)成比例的
  • proportionate/prəˈpɔːʃənɪt/(adj)相称的
  • disproportionate/ˌdɪsprəˈpɔːʃənɪt/(adj)不成比例的

Collocations

  • in proportion
  • a large proportion
  • out of proportion
  • sense of proportion
  • proportion of
  • proportion to

Examples

  1. 1.A large proportion of the budget goes on staff costs, leaving relatively little for capital investment.
  2. 2.The response was entirely out of proportion to the scale of the problem — it created more disruption than it solved.

Synonyms

  • share/ʃeə/— a part of something
  • ratio/ˈreɪʃɪəʊ/— a quantified relationship
  • fraction/ˈfrækʃən/— a part of a whole

Etymology

from Latin "proportio" = symmetry, analogy, from "pro-" (for) + "portio" (portion)