Synonyms of testing

testing 1 of 2

adjective

ˈte-stiŋ 

as in challenging

requiring considerable physical or mental effort

beginning rock climbers should choose a less testing route to the summit

Synonyms & Similar Words

• challenging
• difficult
• rigorous
• tough
• demanding
• hard
• complicated
• formidable
• heavy
• rough
• rugged
• exacting
• arduous
• killer
• effortful
• severe
• exhausting
• strenuous
• grueling
• laborious
• intricate
• sweaty
• complex
• uphill
• tall
• painful
• backbreaking
• murderous
• pick-and-shovel
• problematic
• serious
• toilsome
• herculean
• involved
• stiff
• annoying
• trying
• elusive
• tricky
• hellacious
• bruising
• abstract
• moiling
• stressful
• stubborn
• troublesome
• Augean
• strict
• brutal
• stringent
• onerous
• labored
• abstruse
• oppressive
• tight
• thorny
• grim
• hairy
• opaque
• recondite
• insoluble
• burdensome
• irksome
• ticklish
• taxing
• bothersome
• knotty
• spiny
• distressing
• vexatious
• cruel
• grievous
• inhuman

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• light
• simple
• easy
• soft
• cheap
• clear
• elementary
• effortless
• mindless
• facile
• achievable
• undemanding
• uncomplicated
• manageable
• doable
• smooth
• gentle
• comforting
• soothing
• relaxed
• painless
• accessible
• friendly
• user-friendly
• idiotproof

testing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of test

1

as in sampling

to put (something) to a test

please test this sample for the presence of lead

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sampling
• examining
• trying (out)
• exploring
• investigating
• researching
• studying
• checking (out)
• experimenting (with)
• retesting
• feeling (out)
• resampling

2

as in trying

to subject (a personal quality or faculty) to often excessive stress

all of these unnecessary questions are testing my patience

Synonyms & Similar Words

• trying
• stretching
• pushing
• straining
• getting (to)
• taxing
• bothering
• annoying
• irritating
• demanding
• exacting
• pressuring
• harassing
• aggravating
• gnawing (at)
• pressing
• pestering
• exasperating
• importuning
• harrying
• grating
• vexing
• agitating
• hassling
• paining
• spiting
• riling
• nettling
• galling
• peeving
• irking

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of testing

Verb

Exercise also improves the capacity of mitochondria to process energy, in part by stress-testing the system. — Rowan Jacobsen, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026

Bank of America economist Aditya Bhave says the markets are testing the Fed's pain threshold with the Nasdaq retreating 5% and credit spreads flaring a bit. — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 20 Oct. 2026

Ukraine’s battlefield experiences may offer useful lessons for the Pentagon, which has spent decades developing and testing uncrewed aircraft for casualty evacuation missions without actually putting them into operation. — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 20 Oct. 2026

But assessing the audience a comic might draw is still only one way of testing whether something will work on screen. — Deputy Entertainment, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026

Companies are developing frameworks for measuring performance, optimizing interfaces, and testing whether biological computation can deliver consistent results across tasks. — Mike McRae 19, New Atlas, 20 Oct. 2026

The fear is recommending explicit content to someone who doesn’t wish to see it; OnlyFans just began testing discovery in the Netherlands, Blair told me, and will trial in more markets. — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026

Providers typically rule out more common causes first, often testing for the following. — Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 19 Oct. 2026

These early pieces synced with the bitter mindset of the Pictures Generation of the late 1970s and early ’80s, whose artists took up appropriation as a means of testing authorship and ownership. — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 13 Oct. 2026