challenging

[chal-in-jing]

adjective

1. offering a challenge; testing one's ability, endurance, etc.

   a challenging course;

   a challenging game.

2. stimulating, interesting, and thought-provoking.

   a challenging suggestion.

3. provocative; intriguing.

   a challenging smile.

ˈchallenging

/ ˈtʃælɪndʒɪŋ /

adjective

1. demanding or stimulating

   a challenging new job

Other Word Forms

• challengingly adverb
• nonchallenging adjective
• unchallenging adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of challenging¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, as a gerund; 1835–45 for sense of "testing one's ability"; challenge ( def. ), -ing ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

It has, she argues, been at the forefront of challenging the state's treatment of victims of awful abuses.

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Catalina, one of the Channel Islands, is about an hour’s ferry ride from Long Beach; it’s challenging for crews to get there in a pinch, Barton said.

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“It’s definitely been the most challenging time of our life, that’s for sure. Having a new baby was hard without all of this on top of it,” Morgan said.

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The case challenging Vera’s injunction will now head to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, with a hearing tentatively set for the middle of November.

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But the government is facing a challenging autumn Budget, not least because a rebellion by Labour MPs derailed a plan to save billions on welfare spending earlier this year.

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Related Words

• ambitious 
• arduous 
• burdensome 
• crucial 
• demanding 
• laborious 
• onerous 
• painful 
• problematic 
• severe 
• strenuous 
• tough 
• troublesome