challenging

adjective

chal·leng·ing | \ ˈcha-lən-jiŋ

Definition of challenging

1 : arousing competitive interest, thought, or action a challenging course of study a challenging job

2 : invitingly provocative : fascinating a challenging personality challenging questions

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Examples of challenging in a Sentence

I find the job challenging and fun. Teaching is challenging but rewarding work. It's a challenging book that requires careful reading. The slope was challenging for even the most experienced climbers.

Recent Examples on the Web

The collapse in sales looks particularly challenging for foreign makers. — Trefor Moss, WSJ, "Global Auto Makers Dented as China Car Sales Fall for First Time in Decades," 14 Jan. 2019 MHI’s efforts to attract more commercial business for its new rocket come at a challenging time. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "Quietly, Japan has established itself as a power in the aerospace industry," 15 Nov. 2018 Hedge funds are designed to mitigate risk, the argument goes, and so investors in them might sacrifice some gains as markets rise while waiting for hedge funds to prove themselves in more challenging times. — James B. Stewart, New York Times, "Hedge Funds Should Be Thriving Right Now. They Aren’t.," 12 July 2018 Nonresidential years are very challenging for Democrats in Texas, historically. — Ella Nilsen, Vox, "Laura Moser didn’t want to be a “folk hero of the left.” Then the DCCC came after her.," 30 Apr. 2018 But what was more challenging were the quiet moments. — Molly Fitzpatrick, Marie Claire, "Taylor Schilling On What Scares Her—On and Off The Screen," 22 Jan. 2019 And Stern argues that this flyby is even more challenging than the one at Pluto, when New Horizons came within 7,750 miles of the dwarf planet’s surface. — Loren Grush, The Verge, "On New Year’s Day, a spacecraft will zoom by the most distant object humanity has ever visited," 27 Dec. 2018 Stealing the material would be challenging but far from impossible. — Daily Intelligencer, "This Is What a Nuclear Bomb Looks Like," 12 June 2018 The duo are immediately confronted with a pair of challenging puzzles: Who killed Anastasia Prill—incidentally, their first client—by introducing poisonous Calabar beans into her coffee grinder? — Tom Nolan, WSJ, "Mysteries: When the Wheels Come Off," 25 Jan. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'challenging.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.