mental age

American  

noun

Psychology.

1. the level of native mental ability or capacity of an individual, usually as determined by an intelligence test, in relation to the chronological age of the average individual at this level.

   a ten-year-old child with the mental age of a twelve-year-old; a mental age of twelve.

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mental age British  

noun

1. psychol the mental ability of a child, expressed in years and based on a comparison of his test performance with the performance of children with a range of chronological ages See also intelligence quotient

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Etymology

Origin of mental age

First recorded in 1910–15

Compare meaning

How does mental-age compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• mental age vs. chronological age

Example Sentences

It’s not cute watching and adult man regress to the mental age of a three-year-old.

From Salon • Mar. 1, 2024

His lawyer, M. Ravi, said Nagaenthran, now 33, “could possibly have a mental age below 18” and that the disability doesn’t allow him to understand or appreciate deterrence.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 4, 2021

Her mental age was about 5 or 6 years old, her parents said in the claim.

From Fox News • Jan. 21, 2020

The judges were told the woman's daughter is in her 20s, is 22 weeks pregnant, and has the mental age of a child aged between the age of six and nine.

From BBC • Jun. 24, 2019

If a youth of 18 and a man of 60 years both have a mental age of 12 years, the I Q in each case is 12 ÷ 16, or .75.

From The Measurement of Intelligence An Explanation of and a Complete Guide for the Use of the Stanford Revision and Extension of the Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale by Cubberley, Ellwood Patterson