PROPORTION
Dictionary entry overview: What does proportion mean?
• PROPORTION (noun)
The noun PROPORTION has 4 senses:
1. the quotient obtained when the magnitude of a part is divided by the magnitude of the whole
2. magnitude or extent
3. balance among the parts of something
4. harmonious arrangement or relation of parts or elements within a whole (as in a design)
Familiarity information: PROPORTION used as a noun is uncommon.
• PROPORTION (verb)
The verb PROPORTION has 2 senses:
1. give pleasant proportions to
2. adjust in size relative to other things
Familiarity information: PROPORTION used as a verb is rare.
Dictionary entry details
• PROPORTION (noun)
Meaning:
The quotient obtained when the magnitude of a part is divided by the magnitude of the whole
Classified under:
Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas
Hypernyms ("proportion" is a kind of...):
quotient (the ratio of two quantities to be divided)
Meronyms (parts of "proportion"):
proportional (one of the quantities in a mathematical proportion)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "proportion"):
case-fatality proportion (the number of cases of a disease ending in death divided by the number of cases of the disease; usually expressed as a percentage or as the number of deaths per 1000 cases)
batting average ((an extension of the baseball term) the proportion of times some effort succeeds)
pct; per centum; percent; percentage (a proportion multiplied by 100)
golden mean; golden section (the proportional relation between two divisions of line or two dimension of a plane figure such that short : long :: long : (short + long))
scale (the ratio between the size of something and a representation of it)
rate (a quantity or amount or measure considered as a proportion of another quantity or amount or measure)
content (the proportion of a substance that is contained in a mixture or alloy etc.)
case-to-infection proportion; case-to-infection ratio (the number of cases of a disease divided by the number of infections with the agent that causes the disease)
Meaning:
Magnitude or extent
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Synonyms:
proportion; dimension
Context example:
a building of vast proportions
Hypernyms ("proportion" is a kind of...):
magnitude (the property of relative size or extent (whether large or small))
Meaning:
Balance among the parts of something
Classified under:
Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes
Synonyms:
symmetry; proportion
Hypernyms ("proportion" is a kind of...):
balance; counterbalance; equilibrium; equipoise (equality of distribution)
Antonym:
disproportion (lack of proportion; imbalance among the parts of something)
Meaning:
Harmonious arrangement or relation of parts or elements within a whole (as in a design)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Synonyms:
proportionality; balance; proportion
Context example:
in all perfectly beautiful objects there is found the opposition of one part to another and a reciprocal balance
Hypernyms ("proportion" is a kind of...):
arrangement; placement (the spatial property of the way in which something is placed)
• PROPORTION (verb)
Meaning:
Give pleasant proportions to
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Context example:
harmonize a building with those surrounding it
Hypernyms (to "proportion" is one way to...):
harmonise; harmonize (bring into consonance or relate harmoniously)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Meaning:
Adjust in size relative to other things
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "proportion" is one way to...):
adjust; correct; set (alter or regulate so as to achieve accuracy or conform to a standard)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "proportion"):
scale down (reduce proportionally)
scale up (increase proportionally)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP
