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Glite Dictionary
💪 Difficult 🧠 Thought-provoking 😏 Provocative
challenging

challenging

14 4.6
Making people feel uneasy or want to argue
  • adjective
  • /ˈtʃælɪndʒɪŋ/
translation icon : desafiante
  • These are indeed challenging questions that require careful thought and consideration.
  • challenging behavior
  • challenging question
  • the most challenging

It was all very cutting edge and challenging and cool.

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Examples

  • We shall be examining this intriguing and challenging question at the Saturday night session of the conference.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Global citizenship is also challenging and perhaps even controversial, given its non-normative stance.

    Academic text (2004)

  • Well, so these are really interesting and challenging times for higher education.

  • We wanted to make them more challenging, more original.

    Zoe Hong

  • The STARs program was designed for students with a range of challenging behaviors.

    Academic text (2006)

  • But what's the most challenging thing as an actor?

  • Individualized case management is the most effective approach with this very difficult and challenging population.

    Academic text (2005)

  • For children with recurrent challenging behavior, a systematically designed and consistently implemented plan is needed.

    Academic text (2006)

  • How, as Burton puts it, can the arts be challenging and subversive without being destructive and immoral?

    Academic text (1995)

  • She found the novel's themes to be both challenging and thought-provoking.

Synonyms

provocative
vschallenging
112 6.7

Causes a strong reaction, for example anger or lively talk

also aims to stimulate curiosity and sometimes disturb rather than only anger
contentious
vschallenging
62 7.4

Causing people to disagree or argue

also aims to stimulate curiosity and interest, not only to cause argument
intriguing
vschallenging
7 2.7

Making you want to know more because it seems strange or mysterious

is more likely to cause disagreement or disturbing reactions than mere curiosity

Antonyms

unprovocative
6.3

Not likely to cause strong feelings or attract attention

How Provocative

incendiary
  • Literature
13 7.9
shocking
278 3.4
controversial
423 5.0
provocative
112 6.7
challenging
14 4.6

Surface Forms

challenging positive
challenger comparative
challengest superlative

Morphology

challenging = challenge (semi-transparent) = challenge + ing

The adjectival sense 'provocative' is related to 'challenge' (to question or provoke) but includes a pragmatic nuance that may not be fully derivable from the base for all learners.

Etymology

Challenging comes from the verb challenge, which once meant to 'defy' or 'call someone out'. That's why a challenging look or remark feels like a dare that provokes and can start disagreement.