Skip to content

unverhältnismäßig

disproportionately

adverb un-fer-HEHL-tniss-meh-ssikh Rare

Also means

out of proportion

Usage Note

unverhältnismäßig signals a degree not proportional to the cause: unverhältnismäßig teuer, unverhältnismäßig reagieren. Key term in legal and ethical discourse about proportionality of measures.

Examples

"Die Strafe ist unverhältnismäßig hoch für dieses Vergehen."

Natural Translation

The penalty is disproportionately high for this offence.

Literal Translation

The penalty is disproportionately high for this offence.

Free starter pack

Building your German vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common German words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore German by topic