That English Vocabulary Size test is wrong

You've probably seen it shared on Facebook, with a graph that looks like this:

www.arealme.com

A 50-question test that purports to tell you how large your vocabulary is based on a smattering of words and your ability to identify synonyms and antonyms of said words.  As with all such tests, it's really just a chance for you to feel superior to other people by posting your scores and comparing them with your friends.

But is it even remotely accurate?

In short, no.  In long, nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

To explain why, let's take a look at the words we're given:

Word	Comparison type	A	B	C	D
Love	Synonym	Left	Life	Live	Like
Much	Synonym	Less	Many	Rather	Deal
Child	Synonym	Kid	Chill	Call	Forget
Large	Synonym	Tiny	Faded	New	Big
Deal	Synonym	Sale	Recoup	Claim	Plea
Companion	Synonym	Fool	Mirror	Entrapment	Partner
Trash	Synonym	Crack	Squeeze	Punch	Junk
Above	Synonym	Pierce	Slow	Over	Work
Specify	Synonym	Designate	Capitulate	Arcane	Assail
Fall	Synonym	Spit	Squeal	Drop	Succeed
Old	Antonym	Tell	Small	Age	New
Yes	Antonym	Notice	Yep	No	Nice
Come	Antonym	Try	Most	Go	Live
Fly	Synonym	Hop	Peer	Drink	Soar
Active	Antonym	Unable	Passive	Inability	Disagree
Dangerous	Antonym	Silly	Careless	Safe	Sadness
Distant	Antonym	Disease	Flex	Obey	Near
Narrow	Antonym	Scold	Punish	Near	Broad
Separate	Antonym	Weak	Ordinary	Unite	Break
Normal	Antonym	Doubt	Standard	Protracted	Extraordinary
Spade	Synonym	Shovel	Needle	Club	Oak
Done	Synonym	Embellished	Squeaked	Finished	Talk
Beg	Synonym	Implore	Recant	Fancy	Answer
Lax	Synonym	Negligent	Mindful	Neurotic	Delectable
Quash	Synonym	Evade	Enumerate	Assist	Defeat
Minor	Synonym	Crude	Trivial	Presidential	Flow
Drab	Synonym	Admissible	Barbaric	Spiffy	Lackluster
Related	Synonym	Steadfast	Pertinent	Alien	Intrinsic
Annoying	Synonym	Facile	Clicker	Counter	Obnoxious
Incipient	Synonym	Galling	Nascent	Chromatic	Capricious
Foul	Antonym	Repelling	Nasty	Fair	Dirty
Compensate	Antonym	Underpay	Coordinate	Extortion	Hooking
Acquiesce	Antonym	Inept	Resist	Gentle	Irascible
Adamant	Antonym	Disdain	Adjunct	Vacillant	Aerate
Alienate	Antonym	Reunite	Away	Sluggish	Aggressive
Avulse	Antonym	Suture	Aver	Timid	Dry
Catalyst	Antonym	Current	Damp	Nadir	Prevention
Amorphous	Antonym	Allay	Abridge	Inimical	Definite
Aggrieved	Antonym	Recalcitrant	Buoyant	Warped	Exacerbate
Apologist	Antonym	Physicist	Critic	Fidelity	Canon
Widow	Synonym	Sire	Fiend	Spank	Dowager
Omen	Synonym	Opulence	Harbinger	Mystic	Demand
Querulous	Synonym	Fugacious	Vapid	Fractious	Extemporaneous
Hightail	Synonym	Abscond	Report	Perturb	Surmise
Gargantuan	Synonym	Promiscuous	Niggardly	Equestrian	Titanic
Avarice	Antonym	Deny	Dependence	Generosity	Yoke
Alacrity	Antonym	Intimate	Provoker	Soother	Sluggishness
Altruism	Antonym	Apocrypha	Noisome	Egoism	Extraneous
Affinity	Antonym	Disperse	Antipathy	Needy	Warped
Baneful	Antonym	Blighted	Jejune	Inveigled	Salubrious

I've bolded, italicized, or underlined words as follows:
If I've bolded the word on the left if the word did not have an answer listed on thesaurus.com (that is, none of the words on the right matched the list of synonyms or antonyms for that word)
In that case, I've italicized a word on the right that most likely fits the definition.
If a word on the right IS listed as a synonym or antonym, I've bolded that word instead.
Finally, if there could be multiple answers, I've underlined possible alternatives (leaving words bolded if they are listed as a synonym or antonym).

As you can see, we already get into trouble with the sixth word, "Deal."  This word has a few basic meanings:

Noun:

1. a usually large or indefinite quantity or degree ...
2. the act or right of distributing cards to players in a card game ...

Transitive Verb:

1. a. to give as one's portion :  apportion ...
   b. to distribute (playing cards) to players in a game ...
2. administer, deliver ...
3. a. sell
   b. trade

Intransitive Verb:

1. to distribute the cards in a card game ...
2. to concern oneself or itself ...
3. a. to engage in bargaining :  trade ...
   b. to sell or distribute something as a business ...
4. a. to take action with regard to someone or something ...
   b. to reach or try to reach a state of acceptance or reconcilement ...

(definitions from merriam-webster.com, heavily edited to remove characters that were screwing up my html)

So you could determine that the synonym for Deal is "Sale" under the belief that the action being described is the "sell" action described by both the transitive and intransitive verb definition 3, but you just as easily could decide it is a "Plea" as part of the act of bargaining (intransitive 3a).

"Related" similarly has two possible answers - "Pertinent" and "Intrinsic".  While "Pertinent" is listed as a synonym on thesaurus.com, "Intrinsic" could be as well.  "Related" has a definition as follows:

...belonging to the same group because of shared characteristics, qualities, etc... (Merriam-Webster.com, "Related" simple definitions).

Those shared characteristics and qualities could be "intrinsic" - that is, they are "belonging to the essential nature of a thing : occurring as a natural part of something" (Merriam-Webster.com, "Intrinsic" simple definitions).  Things are often related by their intrinsic qualities, as in the case of relationships between members of a species.

The worst offender, however, is the last one: Affinity.  It is defined as:

1. relationship by marriage...
2. a :  sympathy marked by community of interest :  kinship...
   b (1) :  an attraction to or liking for something...  (2) :  an attractive force between substances or particles that causes them to enter into and remain in chemical combination...
   c :  a person especially of the opposite sex having a particular attraction for one...
3. a :  likeness based on relationship or causal connection...
   b :  a relation between biological groups involving resemblance in structural plan and indicating a common origin...  (Merriam-Webster.com, again heavily edited)

What we're looking for is the antonym of that.

If we were to negate each of those, we would find that 2b(2) becomes a repulsive "force between substances or particles" - causing them to disperse.  My guess is that it's looking for "Antipathy" - "a strong feeling of dislike" (Merriam-Webster.com, simple definition), as that runs better as an antonym to what we might consider the "colloquial" definition, but clearly both words are appropriate.

Regardless, the test is trying to guess your knowledge of a language based on a very tiny sample.  Worse still, the first 30 of those are relatively easy - that is, they're words that are very common in the language.  It's only the last 20 that really test your knowledge (beyond the silly "Deal" problem).  This is not remotely large enough, as different schools would teach different words to different people.  It might represent a significant sampling, but all it could do is tell you how well you place as a percentage of the population, and NOT how many words you know.