able proportions. #'81^ J® 8$?#
0 a food shortage that could soon reach crisis
proportions 0
a room of fairly
generous proportions
►
MATHEMATICS^ . 5 [U] the equal
relationship between
two pairs of numbers, as
in the statement ‘4 is to 8 as 6 is to 1,2’ ; fcfcflfr
IT»TBii .keep $th in
pro’portion to
react to sth in a sensible way and not think it is worse or more serious than
it really is out of (all)
proportion (to sth) larger, more serious,
etc. in relation to sth than is necessary or appropriate iRijg'fft; If : They
earn salaries out of all proportion to their ability. 0 The media have
blown the incident up out
of all proportion.
SfcfcfH*.
pro por tion al /pra’poijanl; NAmE
-,po:rJ’-/ adj. ~ (to sth) of an appropriate size,
amount or degree in comparison with sth AiJ ; :
Salary is proportional to years of experience.
M/Eo 0 to be directly/inversely proportional
to sth A ^♦^JAIE
if / fc-lt ► proportionally adv.; Families
with children spend proportionally less per person than families without
children. AAA^EtkAMAlitllAilA
proportionality /pra.pofa'naelati; NAmE
-poirj-/ noun [U] (formal) the principle that an action, a punishment,
etc. should not be more severe than is necessary
um ) mwm,
pro portional .representation noun [U] (abbr.
PR)
a
system that gives each party in an election a number of seats in relation to
the number of votes its candidates receive :®
tt
W'frffiSfS ) — compare first-past-the-post
pro por tion ate /pra'pa.fanat; NAmE
-'poirJV adj. ~ (to sth) (formal) increasing or decreasing
in size, amount or degree according to changes in sth else j$ it $] A*J;
X0
' M A$; tH AiJ EHZ3 proportional : The number of
accidents is proportionate to the increased volume of traffic.
—
compare disproportionate ►
pro-por-tionate-ly
adv. : Prices have risen but
wages have not risen proportionately. WWWkT, WP
pro-portioned /pra'pofand; NAmE
-'poirj*-/ adj. (used especially after an adverb jt ffi IP M iSJ
M) having parts that relate in size to other parts in the way that is described
© tfc tf) ; # It lift : a well-
proportioned living room tk A'J 51 All & !i: 0 She was
tall and perfectly
proportioned. pro posal 0"w /pra'pauzl; NAmE-'pouzl/
noun 1 [C, U]
~ (for sth) | ~ (to do sth) | ~ (that ... ) a formal
suggestion or plan; the act of making a suggestion $1 iX; it $;
Ij]\X: to submit/consider/accept/reject a proposal it£
/AriX / -^CEiX 0 a proposal
to build more office
accommodation 0
His proposal that the system should be changed was
rejected. To 0 They
judged that the time was
right for the proposal of new terms for the trade agreement. fM~]
jjnj $r , ft ■$£ J| Wfe
Ifr&.lfclft T o 2 [C] an act of formally asking sb
to marry you
pro-pose 0“* /pra'pauz; NAmE -'pouz/
verb
►
SUGGEST PLAN 5j? X' 1 (formal) to
suggest a plan, an idea,
etc. for people to think
about and decide on H$; H iX: [VN] The government proposed changes to the voting system. iFfc
iff It $ Jf „ 0 What would you
propose? fAISMff
X&iX? 0 [V that] She proposed that the
book be banned. o (BrE also) She
proposed that the book should
be banned. MSliXlttlrfjX. A+E o [VN that] It was proposed that
the president be elected for a period of two years, ff A$HXi£‘H ALJ MS if
0
[V -ing] He proposed changing the name of the company. f&3tiXlL0t'2>^] 0
[VN to inf] It was
proposed to pay the money from
public funds. WAIliX o i-lalildl This pattern is only used
in the passive. jtfc'fejSKX JB
►
INTEND MM 2 to intend to do sth ft#;
; if#]:
[V to inf] What do you propose to do now?
| 1591 proprietress
ft A? 0 [V -ing] How do you propose
getting home? ffpT
nte&mm?.
►
MARRIAGE ;$f j® 3 ~ (sth) (to sb) to ask sb to marry you
A
(ijf: [V] He was afraid that if
he proposed she might
refuse. o She proposed
to
me! ! 0 [VN] to propose marriage M&f
►
AT FORMAL MEETING 4 [VN] ~ sth | ~ sb (for/as
sth) to suggest sth at a
formal meeting and ask people to vote on it H
fcb i&WJt: I propose Tom Ellis
for chairman. „ o to propose
a motion (=
to be the main speaker in support of an idea at a formal debate) M —compare oppose
(l),
second1 v.
►
SUGGEST EXPLANATION ftHbit A 5 [VN] (formal)
to suggest an explanation of sth for people to consider MfM (
H M ) FHT1 PROPOUND: She
proposed a possible solution to the mystery. MMiE TXt&'NlW—
IT»T7n propose a toast (to sb) | propose sb’s health to ask people to wish
sb health, happiness and success by raising their glasses and drinking ( A ) IXiff: I’d like to propose a toast to the bride and
groom.
pro-poser /pra'pauza(r);
NAmE -'pouz-/ noun a person who formally
suggests sth at a meeting $|iXA; WiiXA — compare seconder
prop-os-ition /.prDpa'ziJn; NAmE ,pra:p-/ noun, verb
m noun 1
an idea or a plan of action that is suggested, especially in business HiX ( )
:
I’d like to put a business proposition to you. IS ("1^3*1 O He
was trying to make it look like an attractive proposition. IE i£ & {£ ffe M it M M # iR 51 Ac
2 a thing that you intend to do; a problem or task to be dealt with $; ; #^h51W |n] ®;
if £ 003
matter: Getting a work permit in the
it Iff #• 1$ ^ 'If o 3 (also Proposition) (in the
statement that expresses an
opinion ML &? ; lr. ; M : Her assessment is based on the proposition
that power corrupts.
5 (mathematics %£) a statement of a theorem, and an explanation of how it
can be proved ►
prop:os- ition-a! adj.
m verb [VN] to say in a
direct way to sb that you would like to have sex with them AXA She was
propositioned by a strange man in the bar. S t’E M PS £ A [Ml M
mXo
pro-pound /pra'paund/
verb [VN] (formal) to suggest an idea or explanation of sth for
people to consider ( 030 PROPOSE, PUT FORWARD:
the theory of natural
selection, first propounded by Charles Darwin X
i
5ferf i±l W % ^ A #
pro-pri-etary
/pra'praiatri;
NAmE -teri/ adj. [usually before noun] 1 (of goods j$j ^ made and sold by a
particular company and protected by a registered
trademark M W ; A ti ^ l A f'J &A a proprietary medicine
A M #j on o proprietary brands A f >J tw 1$ o a
proprietary name Af1]^!^ 2 relating to an owner or to the fact
of owning sth Jjffff ; ffffiXAj: The company has a proprietary right to the
property.
rttimu,
pro-pri-etor /pra'praiata^)/
noun (formal) the owner of a business, a hotel, etc. ik ± ; iff W A : newspaper
proprietors ► pro-pri-etor-ship /pra'praiotajip;
NAmE -tarJV noun [u] — see also proprietress
pro-pri-etor-ial /pra.praia'tairial/ adj. (formal)
relating to an owner or to the fact of owning sth ik ± (ft; f'frff AAA proprietorial rights o He laid a
proprietorial hand on her arm (= as if he owned
her). #, MAMS#► pro-pri-etor-ial-ly adv.
pro-pri-etress /pra'praiatres/ noun (old-fashioned)
a
woman who owns a business, hotel, etc. A ik ±; A 0f A K — see also proprietor