challenge
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A direct confrontation, or a difficult but exciting task
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
chaluhnjSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtʃæləndʒ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A confrontation; a dare.
A demanding or stimulating situation
“They reacted irrationally to the challenge of Russian power.”
A demand by a sentry for a password or identification
Questioning a statement and demanding an explanation
“His challenge of the assumption that Japan is still our enemy.”
A summons to fight a duel; also, the letter or message conveying the summons.
An attempt to have a work of literature restricted or removed from a public library or school curriculum.
verb
Take exception to
transitive
To invite (someone) to take part in a competition.
transitive
To dare (someone).
transitive
To dispute (something); to contest.
To call something into question or dispute.
transitive
To be difficult or challenging for.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A demanding or stimulating situation
Used this way, challenge is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“They reacted irrationally to the challenge of Russian power.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “challenge of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: challenge of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Demanding / demandnoun
“They reacted irrationally to the challenge of Russian power.”
Questioningnoun
“His challenge of the assumption that Japan is still our enemy.”
More ways to use challenge
- “His challenge of the assumption that Japan is still our enemy.”noun
- “They reacted irrationally to the challenge of Russian power.”noun
- “Fischer challenged Spassky to a match.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
The contestant you hope to defeat.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
People collectively who are mentally retarded.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.