Vocabulary Age
Vocabulary size is one of the strongest predictors of verbal intelligence, educational attainment, and reading comprehension. This test measures the breadth of your lexical knowledge to estimate your vocabulary age relative to population norms.
Coming soon.
01 /How to Play
- Words will appear on screen — some real, some invented.
- Indicate whether each word is a real English word (YES) or not (NO).
- You will also be asked to identify definitions for some words.
- Answer as fast as you can — hesitation may indicate word unfamiliarity.
- Your vocabulary size estimate and vocabulary age are calculated from your performance.
02 /The Science
Vocabulary size in adults ranges from approximately 20,000 to 100,000+ word families, with the average educated adult knowing around 40,000-60,000 words. The Vocabulary Levels Test (Nation, 1990) and the Vocabulary Size Test (Nation & Beglar, 2007) are foundational research instruments. Vocabulary is highly correlated with crystallized intelligence (Gc) and continues growing throughout adulthood, unlike most other cognitive abilities. It is the single strongest predictor of academic success and is highly valued in high-income professional contexts, driving premium advertising CPM rates.
03 /Pro Tips
- Don't guess randomly on invented words — false positive errors reduce your score.
- If a word looks familiar, it probably is — trust lexical familiarity signals.
- Vocabulary grows with reading — breadth of reading material matters more than volume.
- Technical vocabulary in your professional domain inflates scores in that register.
- Vocabulary age continues to grow throughout life — unlike most cognitive metrics.