inversely proportional

One rises, another falls

Inversely proportional describes a relationship where one quantity increases as another decreases at a corresponding rate.

If you double one value, the other halves.

Speed and travel time are inversely proportional—drive twice as fast, arrive in half the time.

The phrase appears in mathematical and scientific contexts but also in casual observation: My productivity is inversely proportional to the number of tabs I have open.

Related

constant · balance · variable · cause and effect · Boyle's law · gas laws · ideal gas · magnitude · lever · pulley system · elasticity · temperature · trade-off · zero sum · give and take · gravity · torque · pressure

Opposites
mathematical relationship direction

inversely proportionaldirectly proportional

Varying at constant ratio

proportional · positive correlation · parallel

presence of systematic relationship

inversely proportionaluncorrelated

Lacking statistical relationship

independent · unrelated · orthogonal · random

Family

inverse, inversely, inversion, invert, inverted, inverting, inverts, invertible, proportion

Familiarity
Top 200,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Rated G