commensurate

[ kuh-men-ser-it, -sher- ]

adjective

1. corresponding in amount, magnitude, or degree:

   Your paycheck should be commensurate with the amount of time worked.

2. proportionate; adequate:

   a solution commensurate to the seriousness of the problem.

3. having the same measure; of equal extent or duration.
4. having a common measure or divisor; commensurable.

commensurate

/ kəˈmɛnsərɪt; -ʃə-; -ʃə-; kəˌmɛnsəˈreɪʃən /

adjective

1. having the same extent or duration
2. corresponding in degree, amount, or size; proportionate
3. able to be measured by a common standard; commensurable

Derived Forms

• comˈmensurateness, noun
• comˈmensurately, adverb
• commensuration, noun

Other Words From

• com·mensu·rate·ly adverb
• com·mensu·rate·ness noun
• com·men·su·ra·tion [k, uh, -men-s, uh, -, rey, -sh, uh, n, -sh, uh, -], noun
• uncom·mensu·rate adjective
• uncom·mensu·rate·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of commensurate¹

1635–45; < Late Latin commēnsūrātus, equivalent to Latin com- com- + mēnsūrātus (past participle of mēnsūrāre to measure ); -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of commensurate¹

C17: from Late Latin commēnsūrātus, from Latin com- same + mēnsurāre to measure

Example Sentences

It’s moving cement and metal at a speed that is commensurate with the molecules that you’re moving in your lab.

From Time

Now is the right opportunity to complete the transformation of Lifeline to broadband and expand its utilization by increasing the benefit to a level commensurate with the broadband marketplace and making the benefit directly available to end users.

From TechCrunch

For months, The Inquirer, Spotlight PA and ProPublica have investigated this and other issues, including whether school leaders and board members have fulfilled that mission to a degree commensurate with the charity’s vast resources.

From ProPublica

He’s working on the most efficient season of his career, playing well enough defensively to merit serious consideration for his third All-Defense selection, and he has now been paid at a level commensurate with his impact.

From FiveThirtyEight

While she’s happy about the successes of captive breeding and cloning, Bly says that there hasn’t been a commensurate amount of money made available for reintroduction and management of wild ferrets.

From Popular-Science

Nevertheless, commensurate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions have not been made.

From The Daily Beast

University graduates often find they cannot get jobs commensurate with their education skills.

From The Daily Beast

The titles themselves suggest palpable weirdness and un-wellness, a departure from reality commensurate with joining a cult.

From The Daily Beast

But it has not delivered at a level of ambition commensurate with the scale of the crisis.

From The Daily Beast

The effort invested in “getting it right” should be commensurate with the importance of the decision.

From The Daily Beast

Its blessings were not commensurate with its evils; but the evils were less than those which previously existed.

From Project Gutenberg

He had become suddenly a person of substance-an associate of men of consequence, with a commensurate income.

From Project Gutenberg

The Jews confessed their sins to their rabbis, and the penance or punishment was commensurate with their guilt.

From Project Gutenberg

If they have any evil design to which there is no ordinary legal power commensurate, they bring it into Parliament.

From Project Gutenberg

It is, indeed, difficult for the pastor to adopt a policy commensurate with modern demands.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• comparable
• compatible
• consistent
• proportionate
• sufficient