nonverbal intelligence
- noun
- /nɒnˈvɜːrbəl ɪnˈtɛlɪdʒəns/
- Specialized
- The ability to solve visual puzzles without needing to read instructions demonstrates nonverbal intelligence.
- nonverbal intelligence test
Examples
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Many tasks in everyday life require nonverbal intelligence, such as interpreting body language and navigating unfamiliar environments.
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Children with high nonverbal intelligence often excel in hands-on activities that require practical problem-solving skills.
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The Ohwaki-Kohs Block Design Test is a nonverbal intelligence test that was originally devised for individuals with hearing and language impairments.
Academic text (1997) -
The CTONI is a published, norm-referenced, nonverbal intelligence test for individuals ages 6-0 through 89-11 years.
Academic text (2001) -
Suggestions for future research include the derivation of core profiles on other nonverbal intelligence tests and the replication of the findings with independent samples of students with learning disabilities.
Academic text (2001) -
Temple Grandin, perhaps the world's most famous person with autism, has exceptional nonverbal intelligence and spatial memory, and her brain has a host of structural and functional differences compared with the brains of controls, according to a presentation Saturday at the 2012 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans.
Blog text (21) -
The KBIT is individually administered and measures both verbal and nonverbal intelligence, which includes three subtests: Verbal Knowledge (Riddles) and Nonverbal (Matrices).
Academic text (2014) -
Normal nonverbal intelligence as indicated by a standard score of 75 or above on the Nonverbal scale of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (K-ABC-2; Kaufman & Kaufman, 2004).
Academic text (2011) -
The Vocational Intelligence Scale for Adult Blind (VISAB) (Jones & Tears, 1964) was reported by Scholl and Schnur (1976) to be another tactile test designed to test nonverbal intelligence.
Academic text (1997)
Antonyms
- Specialized
Being able to use and understand spoken and written words well
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally transparent: 'nonverbal' (not using spoken/written language) modifies 'intelligence' (capacity to reason), so the overall meaning — ability to understand or solve problems without language — is directly derivable from its parts. This straightforward adjective+noun construction is common and cross-linguistically accessible, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should understand it.
Etymology
Nonverbal intelligence combines nonverbal ('not using words') and intelligence ('ability to think'). Imagine someone solving puzzles with shapes or patterns using only sight and action, not reading or talking, so the phrase means 'ability to understand and solve problems without words'.