Can We Guess Your Intelligence Type Based on the Words You Use?

By: Zoe Samuel
Image: DrAfter123/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images

About This Quiz

Language is one of the tools that sets humanity apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. Language allows us to communicate everything from "There's a lion! Watch out!" to the deepest mysteries in philosophy. Language can be as much a barrier as a door, with some languages lacking certain ideas or concepts entirely. 

Language can change the way we think, as is borne out by the spacial sense of people who speak languages with no concept of the cardinal directions of the compass. Language and culture can change how professions work, and are the reason Korean Air pilots speak English in the cockpit. The masculine and feminine tenses of words in some languages can lead speakers to favor certain kinds of adjectives for certain nouns, which shapes how those nouns, be they bridges or paintings, are produced. Most of all, language and how we use it is often used as a parameter to judge how intelligent we are, and what sort of intelligence we have.

We have devised a test of your intelligence, not so much to measure the overall power of your mind as we will gladly leave that to Mensa, but to categorize your intelligence based on the types of words you favor. Are you ready to find out what kind of mind you have?

Look up. What adjective would you use to describe a generic idea of a tower?

Look at your hands. How would you describe the cleanliness of your keyboard?

Thinking back to childhood, how would you describe a bonfire?

What would you call the activity of moving quickly with your feet?

Let's get deep. What is death?

How would you describe a nice party?

Turn on the TV. How would you describe LeBron James?

Think back to high school. What word would you use to describe math class?

How would you complete the sentence "Hobbies are __________"?

Think about your online habits. How would you describe the notifications on your phone?

Look in your closet. How would you describe the generic idea of a broom?

What word would you use to describe the act of going on a trip to purchase things?

What word would you use for the melodious sounds you use to entertain yourself during your commute?

This is going to feel reflexive. Pick a word to describe the quality of your mind, would you?

What's that card game everyone plays?

Look in the sky! What word describes the 747?

What's that thing with which you pay for things?

About your phone... What's that stuff it runs on?

What's the thing you use to tell time?

Quick! How would you describe the movement of a bullet train?

What adjective would you use to describe a generic idea of a bridge?

What word would you use for when you smell food cooking and your body decides it wants some of that food?

There must be some kids in your life. How would you describe children, as a group?

What's the word for a device that you use for writing emails, doing design work, or creating spreadsheets?

How would you describe a baseball?

What word describes the Platonic ideal of a fork?

What word would you use to describe a major city like Chicago or Seattle?

How would you fill in the blank in the statement "Puppies are _________"?

How would you describe the vastness of space?

What noun describes the stuff stored in your computer?

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