noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A theory in ethics, lying between consequentialism and deontology, holding that it is never right to go against a principle unless there is a proportionate reason to justify doing so. uncountable

Etymology

From proportional + -ism.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.