challenge
/ˈt͡ʃæl.ɪnd͡ʒ/
challenge noun: an antagonization or instigation intended to convince a person to perform an action they otherwise would not.
Noun
challenge (plural challenges)
- An antagonization or instigation intended to convince a person to perform an action they otherwise would not.
- Congratulations on managing to use the phrase “preponderant criterion” in a chart (“On your marks”, November 9th). Was this the work of a kakorrhaphiophobic journalist set a challenge by his colleagues, or simply an example of glossolalia?2013 November 30, Paul Davis, “Letters: Say it as simply as possible”, in The Economist, volume 409, number 8864
- A bid to overcome something.
- a challenge to the king's authority
- For Liverpool, their season will now be regarded as a relative disappointment after failure to add the FA Cup to the Carling Cup and not mounting a challenge to reach the Champions League places.2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport
- An attempt to take possession; a tackle.
- Argentine midfielder Jonas Gutierrez added a superb second when he surged past four challenges to fire in low.2011 October 1, Saj Chowdhury, “Wolverhampton 1-2 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport
- A summons to fight a duel; also, the letter or message conveying the summons.
- The act of a sentry in halting a person and demanding the countersign, or (by extension) the action of a computer system demanding a password, etc.
- The somewhat-shattered San Francisco also managed to make it out, although not before she'd come within seconds of being blown out of the water by Helena, as the two had lost contact in the dark and the flagship had loomed back out of the murk with no one and nothing available to answer the light...2021 March 10, Drachinifel, 27:16 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - The Big Night Battle: Night 1 (IJN 3(?) : 2 USN), archived from the original on 07 Nov 2022
- An attempt to have a work of literature restricted or removed from a public library or school curriculum.
- A difficult task, especially one that the person making the attempt finds more enjoyable because of that difficulty.
- The act of appealing a ruling or decision of a court of administrative agency.
- A judge's interest in the result of a case, constituting grounds for them to not be allowed to sit the case (e.g., a conflict of interest).
- Consanguinity in direct line is a challenge for a judge when he or she is sitting cases.
- The act of seeking to remove a judge, arbitrator, or other judicial or semi-judicial figure for reasons of alleged bias or incapacity.
- We're still waiting to hear how the court rules on our challenge of the arbitrator based on conflict of interest.
- An act of seeking to have a certain person be declared not legally qualified to vote, made when the person offers their ballot.
- The opening and crying of hounds upon first finding the scent of their game.
Verb
challenge (third-person singular simple present challenges, present participle challenging, simple past and past participle challenged)
- To invite (someone) to take part in a competition.
- We challenged the boys next door to a game of football.
- By this I challenge him to single fight.c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
- To dare (someone).
- [...] For I challenge any Man to make any pretence to Power by Right of Fatherhood, either intelligible or poſſible in any one, otherwiſe, then either as Adams heir, or as Progenitor over his own deſcendants, naturally ſprung from him.1689 December (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], “Who Heir?”, in Two Treatises of Government: […], London: […] Awnsham Churchill, […], →OCLC, book I, paragraph 149, page 194
- To dispute (something); to contest.
- to challenge the accuracy of a statement or of a quotation
- In the April 2020 Roade fatality, the worker who died "was reputedly in the habit of walking on the line when he didn't need to". Tragically, no one challenged him about it.2022 August 10, Dr Mike Esbester, “New understandings from old incidents”, in RAIL, number 963, page 58
- Synonyms:
- call
- To call something into question or dispute.
- New information challenged old hypotheses.
- To make a formal objection to a juror.
- To be difficult or challenging for.
- Before moving onto the content of Hobson-Jobson, an explication of the publication history is necessary since this has clearly challenged many commentators.2018, James Lambert, “Setting the Record Straight: An In-depth Examination of Hobson-Jobson”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 31, number 4, →DOI, page 487
- To claim as due; to demand as a right.
- Challenge better terms.1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene iii, page 7
- To censure; to blame.
- I may be more challenged for my inconsiderate Boldness1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “(please specify |book=I to XXXVII)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C....
- To question or demand the countersign from (one who attempts to pass the lines).
- The sentinel challenged us with "Who goes there?"
- To object to the reception of the vote of, e.g. on the ground that the person is not qualified as a voter.
- To take (a final exam) in order to get credit for a course without taking it.
- I mean if you go in and want to challenge an exam it cost you half of your course money. If you don't pass the exam, that money is credited toward taking the course. What have you got to lose to challenge an exam, or do a competency exam?1996, Senate Legislative Record ... Legislature State of Maine
- The only time I went to class was to challenge an exam. My marks were good. But there was one class I never missed, “Nursing Process and the New Philosophy in Nursing.”1997, Carol Gino, The Nurse's Story
challenge meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
challenge in Hindi
- that which encourages someone to do something they otherwise would not
- चुनौती cunautī
- difficult task
- चुनौती cunautī
- to invite someone to take part in a competition
- ललकारना lalkārnā
- to dare someone
- ललकारना lalkārnā
challenge in Tamil
- that which encourages someone to do something they otherwise would not
- சவால் cavāl
- difficult task
- சவால் cavāl
challenge in Marathi
- आव्हान, आव्हान देणे, आव्हान द्यायला
challenge in Urdu
- that which encourages someone to do something they otherwise would not
- تحدی tahaddī, چنوتی cunautī
- difficult task
- آزمائش āzmā'iś, مشکل muśkil, دشواری duśvārī
More languagesFewer languages
- challenge in Bengali
- আপত্তি, দর্প, আহ্বান, প্রহরীর প্রশ্ন
- challenge in Telugu
- సవాలు savālu, కాలుద్రవ్వు kāludravvu
- challenge in Malayalam
- വെല്ലുവിളി velluviḷi, വെല്ലുവിളിക്കുക velluviḷikkuka
- challenge in Kannada
- ಪೋಟಿಕರೆ, ಸವಾಲು, ಸ್ಪರ್ಧೆ, ಪಂಥಾಹ್ವಾನ
- challenge in Punjabi
- ਚੁਣੌਤੀ, ਚੁਣੌਤੀ ਦੇਣਾ
- challenge in Gujarati
- પડકાર paḍkār
- challenge in Odia
- ଆହ୍ୱାନ, ଚ୍ଯ଼ାଲେଞ୍ଜ, ଚାଲେଞ୍ଜ୍
- challenge in Sanskrit
- प्रत्याक्रोशति pratyākrośati, प्रत्याक्रुश् pratyākruś, आक्षिपति ākṣipati
- challenge in Nepali
- चुनौती, चुनौति, चुनौती दिनुहोस्
- challenge in Tagalog
- hamon, humamon, hamunin, maghamon
- challenge in Arabic
- تَحَدٍّ taḥaddin, التَّحَدِّي at-taḥaddī
- challenge in Malay
- cabaran, cabar
- challenge in Indonesian
- tantangan, menantang
- challenge in Persian
- چالش čâleš
- challenge in Thai
- คำท้า, คำท้าทาย, ท้า táa, ความท้าทาย kwaam-táa-taai
- challenge in Vietnamese
- thách thức, thách đố, thử thách, thách đấu
Examples of challenge in a sentence
- A new challenge will arise every time you think you've solved the last one.
- The intent of the aphorism "think globally, act locally" was to spur action by localizing the challenge.
- It's time to batten down the hatches and prepare for the coming challenge.
Synonyms of challenge
Forms of challenge
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | challenges |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | challenges |
| present participle | challenging |
| past participle | challenged |
| past | challenged |
Origin of challenge
From Middle English chalenge, variant with palatalization of Middle English kalange (“an accusation, claim”), from Old French chalenge, chalonge, palatalized Central French variants of Old Northern French calenge, calonge (see Continental Norman calengier), from Latin calumnia (“a false accusation, calumny”). Cognate with Old English hōl (“calumny”). Doublet of calumny.
Words formed from challenge
- challengeable
- challenged
- challengee
- challengeful
- challengeless
- challenger
- challenge run
- challengest
- challengeth
- counterchallenge
- dechallenge
- floor temperature challenge
- frame challenge
- immunochallenge
- megachallenge
- mischallenge
- multichallenge
- multichallenger
- nonchallenge
- overchallenge
- postchallenge
- prechallenge
- rechallenge
- subchallenge
- superchallenge
- unchallengeable
- unchallengeably
- unchallenged
- underchallenge
- Batson challenge
- challenge coin
- challenge exam
- drug challenge
- high challenge
- ice bucket challenge
- peremptory challenge
- rise to the challenge
- room temperature challenge
Phrases with challenge
Questions about challenge
- What does challenge mean?
- Challenge means an antagonization or instigation intended to convince a person to perform an action they otherwise would not.
- What is challenge in Hindi?
- Challenge in Hindi is चुनौती (cunautī), ललकारना (lalkārnā). See Challenge meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is challenge?
- Challenge can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce challenge?
- Challenge is pronounced /ˈt͡ʃæl.ɪnd͡ʒ/.
- What is the plural of challenge?
- The plural of challenge is challenges.
Words near challenge in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: challenge (page history and authors); challenge (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); challenge (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); కాలుద్రవ్వు (Telugu) (page history and authors); challenge (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); challenge (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); પડકાર (Gujarati) (page history and authors); challenge (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); आक्षिपति (Sanskrit) (page history and authors); challenge (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-challenge.ogg.
Cite this entry: “challenge.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/challenge. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.