Free word reasoning test
Verbal Reasoning Test
This verbal reasoning test asks you to spot how words relate: analogies (A is to B as C is to ?), odd one out, and matching pairs. It checks whether you can name the exact link between two words and carry it over to a new pair.
There are 15 questions from easy to hard. After each one you see the answer and why the close alternatives miss. Free, untimed, no sign-up.
- 15 questions
- About 5 minutes
- Explained as you go
Puppy : Dog :: Kitten : ?
Which word completes the analogy?
What this verbal reasoning test measures
An analogy question hides a relationship inside the first pair and asks you to find it again. Puppy is to dog as kitten is to cat works because the link is "young animal to adult". Pen is to write as knife is to cut works because the link is "tool to what it does".
The distractors are chosen to be related to the words without matching the relationship. That is the real test: not whether you know what a knife is, but whether you can tell "used for" apart from "describes" or "goes with".
You also need to know the words. The harder items lean on vocabulary (entomologist, stanza, overture), so this test mixes reasoning with knowledge. That is normal for verbal tests, and it is why they are usually kept apart from purely visual ones.
How verbal reasoning relates to IQ
Verbal analogies have appeared on intelligence tests for over a century, and verbal ability is one of the main parts of standard IQ batteries such as the Wechsler scales. People who do well on verbal reasoning tend to do well on other reasoning tasks too.
Our full IQ test measures analogical thinking without words. It shows you a pair of shapes that change in some way and asks you to apply the same change to a new shape. Same skill, no vocabulary needed, which makes it fairer to people reading in a second language.
This 15-question test has not been normed and cannot estimate IQ. It tells you how you did on these particular word puzzles.
How to solve an analogy in three steps
First, say the relationship out loud as a sentence. "A thermometer measures temperature." Vague links like "they go together" lead you to the wrong option.
Second, plug each option into the same sentence. "Scales measure weight" works. "Scales measure balance" does not quite. If two options fit, make your sentence more specific.
Third, check direction. Drought is a lack of water, so famine is a lack of food, not hunger. Hunger is what the lack causes, which flips the relationship.
The relationships that come up most
Most verbal analogies use a small set of links: young to adult, part to whole, tool to action, maker to product, cause to effect, group to member, opposites, and degree (warm to hot). Learning to name these quickly is most of the skill.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good verbal reasoning score?
On this 15-question test, 13 or more is excellent and 10 to 12 is good. The last few items need less common words, so a missed question near the end is often a vocabulary gap rather than a reasoning slip.
What is the difference between verbal reasoning and vocabulary?
Vocabulary is knowing what words mean. Verbal reasoning is working out how words relate and applying that relationship to new words. You need some vocabulary to reason with words, but a big vocabulary on its own will not solve an analogy.
Do IQ tests still use verbal analogies?
Some do. Verbal sections remain part of many standard IQ batteries. Online and culture-fair tests, including ours, tend to use visual analogies instead so that language and schooling matter less.
How can I get better at verbal reasoning questions?
Practise naming the relationship in a full sentence before you look at the options. Reading widely helps with the vocabulary side. Both improve your score on this kind of test, which is different from raising IQ.