# challenging

Pronunciation: US say "CHAL-uhn-jing" /ˈt͡ʃælənd͡ʒɪŋ/; UK

## Adjective

1. Difficult to do, demanding considerable effort, skill, or determination.
   - Simple: Hard to do because it takes a lot of effort, skill, or patience.
   - _The new role proved challenging, requiring skills she had never used before._
   - _Negotiating the contract was a challenging task for the entire legal team._

## Verb

2. Present participle and gerund of challenge. — present participle and gerund of challenge
   - Simple: Present participle of challenge. Use this -ing form when the action is happening now.
   - _Critics are challenging the company's safety claims in the press._
   - _Challenging the status quo often requires both evidence and courage._

## Noun

3. The act of making a challenge: questioning, disputing, or formally calling someone to compete.
   - Simple: The act of questioning something or calling someone to a contest.
   - _The challenging of the witness lasted nearly two hours in court._
   - _Open challenging of authority was rare in that strict household._

## Origin

This is the Middle English form chalengynge, formed from "challenge" plus the suffix "-ing".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/challenging (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).