Proportional
[prə'pɔːʃ(ə)n(ə)l] or [prə'pɔrʃənl]
Definition
(noun.) one of the quantities in a mathematical proportion.
(adj.) properly related in size or degree or other measurable characteristics; usually followed by `to'; 'the punishment ought to be proportional to the crime'; 'earnings relative to production' .
(adj.) having a constant ratio .
Editor: Peter--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Having a due proportion, or comparative relation; being in suitable proportion or degree; as, the parts of an edifice are proportional.
(a.) Relating to, or securing, proportion.
(a.) Constituting a proportion; having the same, or a constant, ratio; as, proportional quantities; momentum is proportional to quantity of matter.
(n.) Any number or quantity in a proportion; as, a mean proportional.
(n.) The combining weight or equivalent of an element.
Typist: Melba
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. Proportionate, proportionable, symmetrical, correspondent.
Editor: Yvonne
Examples
- These slight proportional differences, due to the laws of growth and variation, are not of the slightest use or importance to most species. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- The volume of gas discharged from a pipe is directly proportional to the square of its diameter, and inversely as the square of its length. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- It follows from this law that the density and tension, and therefore the expansive force of a gas, are proportional to the compressing force to which it is subjected. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Proportional representation and preferential voting I have mentioned. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Any device like proportional representation and preferential voting which facilitates the political expression of group interests is worth having. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- The proportional numbers of its inhabitants will almost immediately undergo a change, and some species will probably become extinct. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
Checker: Norris