Difference between Intelligent and Smart

Key Difference: Intelligence is the quality of a being to be well informed and be smart in all the activities. On the other hand, a smart person is one who is clever and quick in thought and action.

Intelligent and Smart are synonyms. Most of the times, the terms are used interchangeably. However, there is a difference between the meaning and the use of these words.

Intelligence is something that you learn. Intelligence is what one can improve by studies, reasoning, and understanding. It can only be developed from childhood. No one is born intelligent, one needs to work on it and improve his skills.

According to Dictionary.com, ‘Intelligence’ is:

• Capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc.
• Manifestation of a high mental capacity: He writes with intelligence and wit.
• The faculty of understanding.
• Knowledge of an event, circumstance, etc., received or imparted; news; information.
• The gathering or distribution of information, especially secret information.

IQ or Intelligent Quotient is a test that rates one’s intelligence. It is a way to test one’s general ability to solve problems and to understand concepts. Though, intelligence can’t be measured, but with this method one can come to know about their abilities. In either case, it is inherent, and it simply stems from your genetic makeup.

‘You are very smart’, ‘I don’t trust some of those smart salesmen’, etc., are the sentences that are mostly used for someone. Why is it used? Smart is basically an earned status. It is when a person studies, learns or does research, hence, he becomes smarter in the subject matter.

Some people are smart but not amazing in a particular field. They are average in almost anything they do, so they like to show off and that gets converted into smartness.

Dictionary.com defines ‘Smart’ as:

• To be a source of sharp, local, and usually superficial pain, as a wound.
• To be the cause of a sharp, stinging pain, as an irritating application, a blow, etc.
• To feel a sharp, stinging pain, as in a wound.
• To suffer keenly from wounded feelings: She smarted under their criticism.
• To feel shame or remorse or to suffer in punishment or in return for something.

There are multiple theories of Intelligence, that states one’s smartness. They are:

• Linguistic intelligence ("word smart")
• Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart")
• Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")
• Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart")
• Musical intelligence ("music smart")
• Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart")
• Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart")
• Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")

Intelligent and Smart are terms which are somewhat related to each other. Without intelligence one cannot show his smartness, and if one is not smart, the intelligentce of that person is not visible in all the activities.

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