challenging

adjective

chal·​leng·​ing ˈcha-lən-jiŋ 

1

: arousing competitive interest, thought, or action

a challenging course of study

a challenging job

2

: invitingly provocative : fascinating

a challenging personality

challenging questions

challengingly

ˈcha-lən-jiŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms of challenging

• difficult
• tough
• rigorous
• demanding
• hard

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

Instead, of course, Dubas either misjudged the value of his assets or, more likely, misjudged how challenging the market would be. — Josh Yohe, New York Times, 27 July 2026

Decision-making is increasingly challenging, leading to ineffective outcomes, with 72% of executives reporting poor choices are common. — Tracy Brower, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026

Having the idea, obtaining funding, and doing the work wasn’t necessarily the hardest part—getting a paper published seemed even more challenging. — Literary Hub, 27 July 2026

In April, DeepSeek rolled out previews of its latest V4 model, challenging OpenAI’s GPT and Google’s Gemini. — ABC News, 26 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

see challenge entry 1

First Known Use

1841, in the meaning defined at sense 1