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to face a challenge

to face a challenge

5 3.9
Deal with a difficult problem or situation
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : enfrentar un desafío
  • As automation professionals, engineers, and technicians, we face a challenge.
  • now face a challenge
  • never faced a challenge
  • immediately faced a challenge

Who do you go to when you face a challenge?

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Examples

  • She knew that if she wanted to pass the exam, she had to face a challenge head-on.

  • Every department in the country is facing a challenge because we don't have space in our curriculum.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Your generation has come of age, facing a challenge like no other generation before you.

  • Our nation is facing a challenge unlike it's faced in decades.

  • When people face a challenge, they sometimes talk about taking a deep breath to find courage or strength.

  • Learning to face a challenge and succeed is an essential skill.

    Blog text (29)
  • The public schools certainly face a challenge in meeting the expectations of the lay public in terms of pupil achievement.

    Academic text (2000)
  • In 108 years, our employees have never faced a challenge like the one that confronts us now.

    Blog text (8)
  • So the next time that you are facing a challenge—physical or mental—do your best.

    Blog text (21)
  • If the United States remains in a state of Walpolian inertia, it may soon face a challenge to the very nature of American federalism and its relationship with Latin America.

    Academic text (1997)

Synonyms

to face
vsto face a challenge
2.2

To deal with a difficult situation or person

is the general act of dealing with or confronting difficulties
to confront
vsto face a challenge
359 4.4

Face a difficult problem or fear directly and bravely

is broader meaning to deal with or handle hard situations
to cope with
vsto face a challenge
150 2.9

Manage a difficult problem, situation or strong feeling

focuses more on confronting rather than simply managing
to tackle (the problem)
vsto face a challenge
5 3.0

To try hard to solve a problem

emphasizes general confronting rather than energetic effort
to take on the challenge
vsto face a challenge
3 3.2

To accept a difficult task to test yourself

means to deal with or confront a problem after acceptance
to handle a situation
vsto face a challenge
3 3.2

To deal with a problem or difficult event well

is more about confronting obstacles rather than just managing them
to face an issue
vsto face a challenge
3.3

To deal directly and openly with a problem

is about dealing with obstacles rather than only naming problems
to take the challenge head-on
vsto face a challenge
  • Informal
3.9

To face a difficult problem directly and work hard to solve it

is about dealing with difficulties rather than only accepting tasks
to navigate tough situations
vsto face a challenge
5.1

To deal with difficult situations calmly and successfully

is about direct confrontation, not only careful management
to weather the challenge
vsto face a challenge
7.0

Manage to get through a difficult situation

involves active dealing or confronting, not only surviving

Antonyms

1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

Avoid doing something because you feel afraid or unsure

How Difficult

to face a challenge
5 3.9

Surface Forms

face a challenge infinitive
faced a challenge past participle
facing a challenge present participle
faces a challenge third person singular

Morphology

face + a + challenge

The meaning 'to deal with or confront a difficult situation' is directly and transparently composed from 'face' (to confront/deal with) plus 'challenge' (a difficult task); the article 'a' is semantically light and does not obscure meaning. This straightforward compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Face a challenge comes from a simple picture: you turn your face toward a hard thing, like a person in a contest or a high wall, ready to meet the challenge. That's why it now means 'to deal with or confront a difficult situation'.