challenged

[ chal-injd ]

/ ˈtʃæl ɪndʒd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR challenged ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

a euphemism for disabled (usually preceded by an adverb): physically challenged.

deficient or lacking (usually preceded by an adverb or noun and used facetiously): ethically challenged; math-challenged.

Nearby words

chalkstone, chalky, challah, challenge, challenge diet, challenged, challenger, challenging, challis, chalmers, chalon-sur-saône

Origin of challenged

1980–85, Americanism

Related formsun·chal·lenged, adjective

Definition for challenged (2 of 2)

challenge

[ chal-inj ]

/ ˈtʃæl ɪndʒ /

noun

a call or summons to engage in any contest, as of skill, strength, etc.

something that by its nature or character serves as a call to battle, contest, special effort, etc.: Space exploration offers a challenge to humankind.

a call to fight, as a battle, a duel, etc.

a demand to explain, justify, etc.: a challenge to the treasurer to itemize expenditures.

difficulty in a job or undertaking that is stimulating to one engaged in it.

Military. the demand of a sentry for identification or a countersign.

Law. a formal objection to the qualifications of a particular juror, to his or her serving, or to the legality of an entire jury.Compare peremptory challenge.

the assertion that a vote is invalid or that a voter is not legally qualified.

Biology. the process of inducing or assessing physiological or immunological activity by exposing an organism to a specific substance.

Hunting. the crying of a hound on finding a scent.

verb (used with object), chal·lenged, chal·leng·ing.

to summon to a contest of skill, strength, etc.

to take exception to; call in question: to challenge the wisdom of a procedure.

to demand as something due or rightful.

Military. to halt and demand identification or countersign from.

Law. to take formal exception to (a juror or jury).

to have a claim to; invite; arouse; stimulate: a matter which challenges attention.

to assert that (a vote) is invalid.

to assert that (a voter) is not qualified to vote.

to expose an organism to a specific substance in order to assess its physiological or immunological activity.

Archaic. to lay claim to.

verb (used without object), chal·lenged, chal·leng·ing.

to make or issue a challenge.

Hunting. (of hounds) to cry or give tongue on picking up the scent.

adjective

donated or given by a private, corporate, or government benefactor on condition that the recipient raise an additional specified amount from the public: a challenge grant.

Origin of challenge

1175–1225; Middle English chalenge < Old French, variant of chalonge < Latin calumnia calumny

SYNONYMS FOR challenge

11 dare, bid, invite.

12 question, impute, doubt.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR challenge ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

chal·lenge·a·ble, adjectivepre·chal·lenge, verb (used with object), pre·chal·lenged, pre·chal·leng·ing.re·chal·lenge, verb (used with object), re·chal·lenged, re·chal·leng·ing.un·chal·lenge·a·ble, adjective

un·chal·lenge·a·bly, adverb

Word story

The English verb challenge comes from Middle English kalange(n), chalenge(n) “to accuse, claim,” which comes from the Old French verb calonger, calanger, chalonger, chalanger (with still more variants) “to protest, complain,” from Latin calumniārī “to bring false accusations, interpret wrongly, misrepresent, criticize unfairly,” itself a derivation of the noun calumnia, with legal meanings “false accusation, false claim, false pretenses, the making of unfounded objections, trickery.” (The Old French noun chalenge, chalonge is a regular development of Latin calumnia: the cluster -mni- becomes -nge in French, as Latin somnium “dream” becomes Old French songe with the same meaning.)
Latin calumnia is the direct source of calumny, “a false and malicious statement,” so calumny and challenge are doublets (words deriving ultimately from the same source). In fact, an earlier, now obsolete meaning of challenge was “an accusation or false claim.”
The legal sense of challenge, “to object to (a juror or evidence),” dates from the 16th century. The verb sense “to summon someone to a fight or a duel” first appears in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost (1598).

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for challenged

But in 1969, a longstanding practice was challenged—its ban on women.
The Bars That Made America Great|Nina Strochlic|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He challenged the very core of the Iranian theocracy and demanded respect for basic human rights.
Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015|Movements.Org|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Within hours, thousands of Iranians challenged the foreign minister on social media asking how that could possibly be.
Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015|Movements.Org|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Good, caring teachers recognized his talent and challenged him to work hard to compete at the highest levels.
Your Local School Doesn’t Have to Suck|Michael S. Roth|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST

So the sorts of policy changes Obama announced Thursday night would, if challenged in court, be upheld as legal.
Why Did Obama Flip-Flop on Immigration?|Paul Campos|November 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"Yesseh," repeated Williams, in tones of injury, as if his veracity had been challenged.
The Monster and Other Stories|Stephen Crane
He began to revile the knight in set terms, and challenged him to fight.
Robin Hood|Paul Creswick
At the end of this time he paid the money, and challenged Hesse.
Pencillings by the Way|N. Parker Willis
The butler looked carelessly down upon him, and, as Mr. Prohack uttered no word, challenged him.
Mr. Prohack|E. Arnold Bennett
He surveyed her dubiously, wondering why she so abruptly checked the advances he could swear she had challenged.
Gilian The Dreamer|Neil Munro

British Dictionary definitions for challenged (1 of 2)

challenged

/ (ˈtʃælɪndʒd) /

adjective

(in combination) disabled or disadvantaged in some wayphysically challenged performers

British Dictionary definitions for challenged (2 of 2)

challenge

/ (ˈtʃælɪndʒ) /

verb (mainly tr)

to invite or summon (someone to do something, esp to take part in a contest)

(also intr) to call (something) into question; dispute

to make demands on; stimulatethe job challenges his ingenuity

to order (a person) to halt and be identified or to give a password

law to make formal objection to (a juror or jury)

to lay claim to (attention, etc)

(intr) hunting (of a hound) to cry out on first encountering the scent of a quarry

to inject (an experimental animal immunized with a test substance) with disease microorganisms to test for immunity to the disease

noun

a call to engage in a fight, argument, or contest

a questioning of a statement or fact; a demand for justification or explanation

a demanding or stimulating situation, career, object, etc

a demand by a sentry, watchman, etc, for identification or a password

US an assertion that a person is not entitled to vote or that a vote is invalid

law a formal objection to a person selected to serve on a jury (challenge to the polls) or to the whole body of jurors (challenge to the array)

Derived Formschallengeable, adjectivechallenger, noun

Word Origin for challenge

C13: from Old French chalenge, from Latin calumnia calumny

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for challenged (1 of 3)

challenged

adj.

as a euphemism for "disabled," 1985, past participle adjective from challenge (v.).

Word Origin and History for challenged (1 of 3)

challenge

c.1200, "to rebuke," from Old French chalongier "complain, protest; haggle, quibble," from Vulgar Latin calumniare "to accuse falsely," from Latin calumniari "to accuse falsely, misrepresent, slander," from calumnia "trickery" (see calumny).

From late 13c. as "to object to, take exception to;" c.1300 as "to accuse," especially "to accuse falsely," also "to call to account;" late 14c. as "to call to fight." Also used in Middle English with sense "claim, take to oneself." Related: Challenged; challenging.

Word Origin and History for challenged (2 of 3)

challenge

early 14c., "something one can be accused of, a fault, blemish;" mid-14c., "false accusation, malicious charge; accusation of wrong-doing," also "act of laying claim" (to something), from Anglo-French chalenge, Old French chalonge "calumny, slander; demand, opposition," in legal use, "accusation, claim, dispute," from Anglo-French chalengier, Old French chalongier "to accuse, to dispute" (see challenge (v.)). Accusatory connotations died out 17c. Meanings "an objection" in law, etc.; "a calling to fight" are from mid-15c. Meaning "difficult task" is from 1954.

challenged

adjective

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of challenged

Definition for challenged (2 of 2)

challenge

noun

verb (used with object), chal·lenged, chal·leng·ing.

verb (used without object), chal·lenged, chal·leng·ing.

adjective

Origin of challenge

Word story

Examples from the Web for challenged

British Dictionary definitions for challenged (1 of 2)

challenged

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for challenged (2 of 2)

challenge

verb (mainly tr)

noun

Word Origin for challenge

Word Origin and History for challenged (1 of 3)

challenged

Word Origin and History for challenged (1 of 3)

challenge

Word Origin and History for challenged (2 of 3)

challenge