Stress Test · Preview
Move (زحزح) a word yourself
Eight questions, one word at a time. The words come from the official pages behind the Tracker, so a new one is waiting every time you come back. Your answers stay in your browser. The evidence for “irregular” opens on 18 December.
Eight questions. One word under pressure.
Governments use words to classify people, define problems and explain decisions. The Stress Test asks whether those words still fit what they describe, where their meanings become strained, and what those tensions might mean for policy.
Its findings can point to questions worth investigating: should a definition be clearer, should different situations be distinguished, or should a rule, procedure or public explanation be reconsidered? The test does not make policy on its own. Its evidence may inform separate research and policy proposals.
Public preview. The full Method will be published on 10 December 2026, and the supporting evidence and research findings on 18 December 2026.
The word
Cracks show where your answers put the word under strain, following each question's fixed direction.
Move the stone, or tap a step.
Your reading
Each spoke is one of the eight questions; the further out, the higher the step. A dashed point means not sure.
Questions your answers raise
Drawn from your own answers and each question's fixed direction. They are questions, not findings or recommendations.
Your answers are sealed until 18 December
That day the evidence for “irregular” and ZAH-ZAHA's ratings open, and you can see your reading beside them. Your answers stay in this browser only and are never sent.
ZAH-ZAHA has not tested this word yet
Your answers are kept in this browser only. The full Stress Test of “irregular”, with its evidence, opens on 18 December.
How this test works, in brief
Every word faces the same eight questions. For each one you choose low, medium or high, or Not sure. What each step means is written in advance for every question, and is the same for every word. A low rating does not always mean greater strain, and a high rating does not always mean a problem.
Your answers are your own judgement. ZAH-ZAHA's research ratings are a separate record: each needs evidence and a stated explanation, and a question without enough evidence is marked “not assessed”, which is not the same as your “Not sure”.
The words come from the 168 official pages behind the Tracker, examined page by page in November 2026. Only words that the sources use to classify people, groups, cases or situations are drawn, because the first question asks whether the people or things a word names share what it implies. Words used more often in 2025 and 2026 appear more often in this preview.
The exercise is a way to ask better questions, not an automatic verdict about a person or a policy. The Method, with the full rating definitions, sources, examples and limitations, will be published on 10 December 2026, and the evidence for “irregular” on 18 December 2026.
How this test works, in brief
Every word faces the same eight questions. For each one you choose low, medium or high, or Not sure. What each step means is written in advance for every question, and is the same for every word. A low rating does not always mean greater strain, and a high rating does not always mean a problem.
The exercise is a way to ask better questions, not an automatic verdict about a person or a policy. The Method will be published on 10 December 2026, and the evidence for “irregular” on 18 December 2026.
Question 1 of 8 · Fit
Do the people or things the word names actually share what the word implies?
- Low · A large share, or a group the law treats differently, does not.
- Medium · Most do, but at least one clear group does not.
- High · Almost all do; exceptions are rare.
Question 2 of 8 · Stability
Does it keep one meaning across institutions and countries?
- Low · Institutions or countries use it for different things.
- Medium · The same core meaning, with different edges.
- High · The same sense everywhere that matters.
Question 3 of 8 · Visibility of the rule
Does the word show the rule or system that produces the status?
- Low · The word presents the status as a trait of the person; the rule is hidden.
- Medium · The rule can be found from the word's usual definition.
- High · The word itself names the rule.
Question 4 of 8 · Translation
Do the Arabic equivalents carry the same meaning?
- Low · The standard Arabic equivalent, used by officials and institutions, says something the English does not.
- Medium · The same meaning, but the Arabic equivalents in use differ in their charge.
- High · The same meaning and the same charge.
Question 5 of 8 · Drift
Has what the word applies to changed over time?
- Low · The same cases throughout.
- Medium · It changed once, or at the edges.
- High · It changed repeatedly or fundamentally.
Question 6 of 8 · Codification
Is it written into law, statistics, forms, databases or automated systems, so that it has consequences?
- Low · Speech and media only.
- Medium · Official documents or statistics, but not law.
- High · Law, regulations, forms, databases or automated systems, with consequences.
Question 7 of 8 · Contestation
Is it disputed, by politicians, scholars or the people it names?
- Low · Rarely.
- Medium · By scholars or advocates, with little public debate.
- High · Openly, by politicians, courts, media or the people it names.
Question 8 of 8 · Digital circulation
Does the word change meaning as it spreads on digital platforms?
- Low · Online use keeps the official meaning.
- Medium · Platforms spread a different or harsher sense widely (hashtags, campaigns, memes), but it stays online.
- High · That sense, or a new word that grew online, is later taken up by government: in statements, debates, policy or law.