Vocabulary test responses as traditionally scored were compared to these same responses when scored for finer nuances of understanding, as determined by the criterion of superior synonyms. It was hypothesized that the latter would be more related to age in a deficit pattern than the former. The results partly supported the hypothesis and partly not. In the context of the positive results, it is not clear whether the aged cannot, or simply do not, give synonym responses as readily as the young. It may be more of a cohort preference not to, rather than an age limitation of intellectual ability