apportion
verbUK /əˈpɔːʃən/ · US /əˈpɔɹʃən/
Etymology From Middle French apportionner, from Old French aporcioner, from Late Latin apportionare, from Latin ad + portio. By surface analysis, ap- + portion.
1
To divide and distribute portions of a whole.
- The controlling party had apportioned the voting districts such that their party would be favored in the next election.
2
Specifically, to do so in a fair and equitable manner; to allocate proportionally.
- The children were required to dump all of their Halloween candy on the table so that their parents could apportion it among them.
- The Good Friday Agreement did not, and could not, apportion blame for the Troubles, in which, as in so many such conflicts, one side’s terrorist is the other’s hero.2023 April 10, The Editorial Board, “Biden’s Trip to Northern Ireland and the Power of Diplomacy”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
- Synonyms
- allocate, allot, dispense, parcel out, share out
- Antonyms
- amass, concentrate, consolidate, gather, reassemble
- Derived terms
- apportionable, apportioner, apportionment, reapportion, unapportioned