Balanced in scale or intensity relative to what prompts or justifies it.
Reach for it when judging whether a response, cost, or share fairly matches its basis
The panel recommended a proportionate remedy for the limited reporting error.
| everyday | |
|---|---|
| warm | |
| professional |
|
| formal |
everyday
Fits when competing considerations receive fair weight
Careful Balanced concerns distribution and may not compare action with cause.
everyday
Fits if the degree falls within defensible practical limits
Careful Reasonable depends on judgment and can conceal an unequal ratio.
warm
Suits a restrained response shaped by calm judgment
Careful Measured praises manner and restraint but supplies no exact relationship.
professional
Fits if overall suitability matters more than mathematical balance
Careful Appropriate can fit the setting without being proportionate in scale.
professional
scaled
Fits when where size changes systematically with demand or capacity
Careful Scaled describes adjustment but not fairness or appropriateness.
formal
commensurate
Fits when reward, cost, or responsibility should match a measurable basis
Careful Commensurate is elevated and usually needs an explicit 'with' comparison.
proportionate response
A written reminder was a proportionate response to the first minor lapse.
proportionate share
Each district received a proportionate share based on its student population.
fair and proportionate
The revised fee was fair and proportionate to the service provided.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Vealhurl, Southern England accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated
Your browser isn't saving lists, so this one will be cleared when you leave the page.