Both Uses of
proportionate
in
Nine Stories
- The bus, as usual, was quiet when he climbed in—as proportionately quiet, at any rate, as a theatre with dimming house lights.†
Story 4 *proportionately = in a way that is appropriate in size, amount, or degree relative to something else
- All of her work was unsigned—a minor enough fact, but at the time, a disproportionately refreshing one†
Story 8disproportionately = in a way that is not appropriate in size, amount, or degree relative to something elsestandard prefix: The prefix "dis-" in disproportionately reverses the meaning of proportionately. This is the same pattern as seen in words like disagree, disconnect, and disappear.
Definition:
an appropriate size, amount, or degree in relation to something else