demanding
Americanadjective
-
requiring or claiming more than is generally felt by others to be due.
a demanding teacher.
-
calling for intensive effort or attention; taxing.
a demanding job.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- demandingly adverb
- nondemanding adjective
- overdemanding adjective
- overdemandingly adverb
- quasi-demanding adjective
- quasi-demandingly adverb
- undemanding adjective
Etymology
Origin of demanding
Explanation
Something that's demanding calls for more work or skill than the typical task. Babysitting might seem like an easy job, but depending on the kids it can actually be incredibly demanding. A demanding job might require a lot of physical work, like farming, or a lot of patience and diplomacy, like being a teacher or a marriage counselor. When a person is described as demanding, it usually means that he or she has very high standards or is especially hard to satisfy. The word comes from the Old French demander, "to request or demand," by way of the Latin demandare, "entrust."
Vocabulary lists containing demanding
Prince (1958-2016) Tribute List
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Difficult
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The politician started his meteoric rise demanding the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Communist Hungary in 1989 with the call “Russians Go Home!”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
Keeping super-cold liquid oxygen and methane stable in the vacuum of space, then transferring them between spacecraft, is one of the most demanding engineering challenges in the programme.
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026
An attorney for Rep. Eric Swalwell, a leading Democratic candidate for California governor, on Thursday sent a cease and desist letter to an unknown individual demanding that they stop accusing the congressman of sexual assault.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
And he wanted to show that the state Supreme Court’s ruling that Pitchford’s lawyer had waived relief was not merely debatable but unreasonable even by the AEDPA’s demanding standards.
From Slate • Apr. 10, 2026
"I don't know how, but they followed me here. I have half of Ishtar's kitties living downstairs. Never met such demanding beasts."
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
