Library / English Dictionary

CHALLENGE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A demand by a sentry for a password or identification

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("challenge" is a kind of...):

demand (an urgent or peremptory request)

Derivation:

challenge (ask for identification)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Questioning a statement and demanding an explanation

Example:

his challenge of the assumption that Japan is still our enemy

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("challenge" is a kind of...):

inquiring; questioning (a request for information)

Derivation:

challenge (take exception to)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A formal objection to the selection of a particular person as a juror

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("challenge" is a kind of...):

objection (the speech act of objecting)

Derivation:

challenge (raise a formal objection in a court of law)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A call to engage in a contest or fight

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("challenge" is a kind of...):

speech act (the use of language to perform some act)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "challenge"):

dare; daring (a challenge to do something dangerous or foolhardy)

confrontation (a bold challenge)

call-out (a challenge to a fight or duel)

defiance (a hostile challenge)

calling into question; demand for explanation (a challenge to defend what someone has said)

demand for identification (as by a sentry)

gantlet; gauntlet (to offer or accept a challenge)

Derivation:

challenge (issue a challenge to)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A demanding or stimulating situation

Example:

they reacted irrationally to the challenge of Russian power

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("challenge" is a kind of...):

situation; state of affairs (the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Raise a formal objection in a court of law

Synonyms:

challenge; take exception

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "challenge" is one way to...):

object (express or raise an objection or protest or criticism or express dissent)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "challenge"):

appeal (challenge (a decision))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

challenge (a formal objection to the selection of a particular person as a juror)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Ask for identification

Example:

The illegal immigrant was challenged by the border guard

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "challenge" is one way to...):

ask for; bespeak; call for; quest; request (express the need or desire for)

"Challenge" entails doing...:

halt; stop (come to a halt, stop moving)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

challenge (a demand by a sentry for a password or identification)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Issue a challenge to

Example:

Fischer challenged Spassky to a match

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "challenge" is one way to...):

bid; invite (ask someone in a friendly way to do something)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "challenge"):

litigate (engage in legal proceedings)

action; litigate; process; sue (institute legal proceedings against; file a suit against)

appeal (take a court case to a higher court for review)

remand; remit; send back (refer (a matter or legal case) to another committee or authority or court for decision)

call out (challenge to a duel)

call one's bluff (ask to prove what someone is claiming)

dare; defy (challenge)

impugn (attack as false or wrong)

impeach (challenge the honesty or veracity of)

call into question; oppugn; question (challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of)

counterchallenge (challenge in turn)

provoke; stimulate (provide the needed stimulus for)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They challenge him to write the letter

Derivation:

challenge (a call to engage in a contest or fight)

challenger (the contestant you hope to defeat)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Take exception to

Example:

She challenged his claims

Synonyms:

challenge; dispute; gainsay

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "challenge" is one way to...):

contend; contest; repugn (to make the subject of dispute, contention, or litigation)

"Challenge" entails doing...:

call into question; oppugn; question (challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "challenge"):

call (challenge the sincerity or truthfulness of)

call (challenge (somebody) to make good on a statement; charge with or censure for an offense)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

challenge (questioning a statement and demanding an explanation)

challengeable (capable of being challenged)

Credits

 Context examples: 

A new paper reports a staggering degree of biological diversity that defies contemporary definitions of microbial species and illuminates reasons behind challenges in metagenomic studies.

(Study analyzing cells' blueprints reveals new patterns in the global distribution and diversity of ocean microbes, National Science Foundation)

Various efforts to measure water in Jupiter’s atmosphere, including NASA’s current Juno mission, have proved challenging.

(Water common – yet scarce – in exoplanets, University of Cambridge)

Mr. Bennet accepted the challenge, observing that he acted very wisely in leaving the girls to their own trifling amusements.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

They continued OIT until week 36 of the study, at which point they underwent an oral food challenge.

(Omalizumab improves efficacy of oral immunotherapy for multiple food allergies, National Institutes of Health)

Saturn’s job is to taunt you, challenge you, and generally test your mettle.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

However, the challenges in proving this link are similar to those of heart disease and cancer.

(Can Chocolate Really Be Good for You?, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

One of the biggest fabrication challenges was inserting small amounts of other elements into the silicon, or doping it, so that it would reflect infrared light like a metal.

(Harvesting Electrical Power from Waste Heat, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Current global vegetation models have faced challenges in producing consistent estimates of plant CO2 uptake, scientists say.

(What's killing trees during droughts?, National Science Foundation)

Hunting for dark matter concentrations devoid of stars has proved challenging.

(Cosmic Magnifying Glasses Find Dark Matter in Small Clumps, NASA)

This high-temperature requirement is challenging to operate inside a vehicle, but such temperatures are also reached in conventional internal combustion engines.

(New, high-energy rechargeable batteries, NSF)