Definition of "challenging" []

• Calling for full use of one's abilities or resources in a difficult but stimulating effort: a challenging course of study; a challenging role for an inexperienced performer. (adjective)
• Absorbing; intriguing: a challenging idea. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It was perhaps an understatement, but the evaluation continued, “The word challenging appears to personify this individual, who may well view life in terms of overcoming obstacles and challenges, even if he has to create them artificially . . .”"
• "Can you talk -- I think at the end of the day, '11 was up about 4% and so I'm just wondering, you mentioned the word challenging and volatile many times on this call."
• "When you find yourself reaching for the word "challenging" to describe your dinner and wanting to shout: "Who put all the bloody mushrooms in my pudding?""