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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Challenge: Definition, Usage & Key Examples (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：test of skill (challenge)

challenge 🔊

/ˈtʃæl.ɪndʒ/

A difficult task or situation that tests your ability and makes you try harder.

Challenge illustrated by a determined rock climber scaling a steep cliff.

test of skill 🔊

➕

/test əv skɪl/

Refers to a difficult task or situation that requires significant effort and skill to overcome, serving as a test of one's abilities.

📁 Category：School Education 🔖 Level：Primary

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'calumniari' (to accuse falsely), through Old French 'chalenge' (accusation, claim).

💡 Mnemonic

A CHALLENGE makes you call and LENGE (lunge) your limits.

📖 Example

Learning a new language is a rewarding challenge. 🔊 Learning a new language is a rewarding test of skill.

🔗 Collocations

face a challenge – To confront a difficult situation or task.

overcome a challenge – To successfully deal with and conquer a difficulty.

intellectual challenge – A task that tests mental abilities and knowledge.

🔄 Synonyms

test (n.) – A situation that reveals the qualities or effectiveness of someone or something.

trial (n.) – A test of performance, qualities, or suitability.

obstacle (n.) – A thing that blocks one's way or hinders progress.

🚫 Antonyms

easiness (n.) – The quality of being achieved without great effort; simplicity.

certainty (n.) – Firm conviction that something is the case; something that is sure to happen.

🌱 Derivatives

challenging (adj.) – Testing one's abilities; demanding.

📖 Cultural Story

The word evolved from a legal term meaning 'a false accusation or claim' in Old French, derived from Latin 'calumniari'. Over time in English, it broadened to signify any call to prove or justify something, and later to any difficult task that tests one's abilities.

Meaning 2：dispute or question (challenge)

challenge 🔊

/ˈtʃæl.ɪndʒ/

To say you disagree with something and ask for it to be proven or changed.

Challenge meaning of dispute shown by a person questioning in a business meeting.

dispute or question 🔊

➕

/dɪˈspjuːt ɔː ˈkwes.tʃən/

Refers to the act of formally questioning the truth, validity, or legality of something, often calling for proof or change.

📁 Category：Laws & Regulations 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

She decided to challenge the team's new policy in the meeting. 🔊 She decided to dispute or question the team's new policy in the meeting.

🔗 Collocations

challenge a decision – To formally object to or question a ruling or conclusion.

legal challenge – A questioning of the validity of something in a court of law.

mount a challenge – To prepare and begin a serious effort to oppose something.

🔄 Synonyms

contest (v.) – To oppose an action, decision, or theory as mistaken or wrong.

dispute (v.) – To argue about something; to question the truth or validity of.

question (v.) – To ask for information or express doubt about the truth of something.

🚫 Antonyms

accept (v.) – To consent to receive or undertake something offered.

agree (v.) – To have the same opinion about something.

🌱 Derivatives

challenger (n.) – A person who disputes or questions something.