EN

Synonyms for portion

58 synonyms
2 antonyms
5 meanings

noun
verb

Most common

part piece chunk section fortune fate share component

Synonyms by meaning

Noun

1. Piece — that which is divided off or separated, as a part from a whole; a separated part of anything

part, piece, chunk, section, fragment, segment, bit, fraction, slice, member, tract, scrap, morsel, clip, division, quantity, lump, allotment, hunk, tranche, subdivision, dole

2. Fortune — one's fate; lot

fortune, fate, destiny, luck, doom, fatality, kismet, weird dated, foredoom rare

3. Share

share, percentage, proportion, contingent, quota

4. Component

component, constituent

Other

parcel, cup, serving, interest, dowry, detail, dividend, dower, ration, helping

Verb

1. Divide

divide, allot, parcel out, deal out, distribute, apportion, assign, divvy up informal

Other

divide up, divvy informal

Antonyms

All antonyms of portion →

Definitions

n. 1
That which is divided off or separated, as a part from a whole; a separated part of anything.
n. 2
One's fate; lot.
n. 3
An allocated amount.
v. 1
To divide into amounts, as for allocation to specific purposes.

Related words

Word family: portionist
Phrases: portion out portion off

Forms

Plural: portions → parts, pieces, chunks, sections…
Past participle: portioned
e.g. portioned → divided, allotted, distributed, apportioned…

Choose the right word

Portion, Proportion or Part?

Proportion is often used where part or portion would be more appropriate.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

piece He showed kindness by giving me a piece of advice.
section Could you explain the last section more precisely?
chunk Tourism could bring Algeria a big chunk of income.
fragment There's a tiny fragment that's broken off.
percentage In the Netherlands, that percentage is 57 percent.
parcel I paid 2,000 yen for the parcel to be sent by air.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
portion		falling
piece		rising
section		falling
chunk		rising
fragment		steady
percentage		falling

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: bit¹, cup¹
4 letters: part¹, luck¹, fate¹, clip¹, doom¹, lump¹, dole¹, hunk¹
5 letters: share¹, piece¹, weird¹, slice¹, scrap¹, tract¹, chunk¹, quota², dowry², allot², dower¹, divvy²
6 letters: member², detail², divide², parcel², assign², ration², morsel², kismet²
7 letters: section², helping², serving², segment², fortune², destiny³, tranche¹
8 letters: interest², division³, quantity³, fraction², dividend³, fragment², fatality⁴, foredoom
9 letters: component³, allotment³, apportion³
10 letters: percentage³, proportion³, distribute³, contingent³
11 letters: subdivision⁴, constituent⁴

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (quota² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: portion
Italiano: porzione
Español: porción