1
as in difficult
requiring considerable physical or mental effort
an exceptionally challenging brainteaser
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in demanding
requiring much time, effort, or careful attention
a challenging test designed to whittle down the number of contestants
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in questioning
to demand proof of the truth or rightness of
don't hesitate to challenge any statement that generalizes about people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in requiring
to have as a requirement
having to put up with an overbearing boss challenges forbearance
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of challenging
Brittney Melton, NPR, 7 Oct. 2025
But recruitment to a deal-cutting group in the current Senate will prove a little more challenging.
—Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2025
Her work has taken her to each of Kansas’ 105 counties, challenging her to help communities preserve their history and envision the revitalization of sleepy downtowns.
—Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for challenging
Adjective
War reporters play a crucial role in documenting history, but reaching the front lines to report the truth is challenging.
—Brittney Melton, NPR, 7 Oct. 2025
But recruitment to a deal-cutting group in the current Senate will prove a little more challenging.
—Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Verb
Combs’ lead defense lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, explicitly told jurors in his closing argument that the defense wasn’t challenging the women’s claims of domestic violence.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2025
Her work has taken her to each of Kansas’ 105 counties, challenging her to help communities preserve their history and envision the revitalization of sleepy downtowns.
—Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for challenging
Recent Examples of Synonyms for challenging
Adjective
-
For once, the bulk of the anger was directed not at Fosun — the investment group and majority shareholder – and the Molineux hierarchy who have conspired to deal Pereira a difficult hand, but at the head coach himself and his players.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Romancelandia’s social world, harnessed by its business-minded authors, may make its success exceedingly difficult to replicate.—
Rebecca Ackermann,
The Atlantic,
5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The players are afforded down time, however, and this first week will be nowhere near as demanding as an in-season training week.—
Chris Waugh,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
This division of labor reportedly reduces one of the most physically demanding aspects of solar farm construction.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The club’s former general manager Pierpaolo Marino then poured fuel on the fire by questioning whether Scott McTominay should have been pushed out to the left of midfield to make way for summer arrival De Bruyne.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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He also was sought for questioning in a child abuse case, Ferrell said.—
Jade Jackson,
IndyStar,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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All day, fans have been buzzing online, daring each other to out-scream every stop before them after Yeonjun teased that some crowds weren’t loud enough.—
Crystal Bell,
Rolling Stone,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Rempe stood out in early scrimmages for his daring drives to the net and nonstop activity in the offensive zone, which has carried over into preseason games.—
Vincent Z. Mercogliano,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Lapses in concentration and learning when to jump out of defence are areas Newcastle have been working on, while the recruitment team identified his one-versus-one defending and his off-the-ball decision-making around his own penalty box as requiring refinement.—
Chris Waugh,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
At its longest, the transformation process took over three hours, requiring Breckenridge to be outfitted with a prosthetic forehead piece, two cheek pieces, a nose piece, as well as fake eyebrows, a mustache, a beard, and a wig.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Lammens was perhaps fortunate to escape sanction then (Stuart Atwell booked the forward for diving), but this was a valuable occasion ahead of tougher tests, beginning at Anfield.—
Laurie Whitwell,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
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There will be some tough picking in there, but typically the predicting business gets a little easier in region play.—
Tyler Palmateer,
Nashville Tennessean,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Another at the micro level is a lot of lopsided red and blue districts and very few purple ones, which means that precious few individual seats are likely to change hands, or even be worth contesting.—
Craig Gilbert,
jsonline.com,
25 Sep. 2025
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Diggs filed a response to the suit, contesting that the baby is his.—
Kayla Grant,
PEOPLE,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
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According to The Information, OpenAI chief Sam Altman has floated eventually needing 250 gigawatts of electricity — equivalent to about a third of peak power consumption across the US.—
Prashant Rao,
semafor.com,
1 Oct. 2025
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Through the first four weeks of the season, the Seattle Seahawks have one of the league’s best defenses despite needing to play various defensive back combinations because of injuries in the secondary.—
Michael-Shawn Dugar,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Challenging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/challenging. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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