- chal´lenge|a|ble
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–v.t.1. to call to a game or contest; dare: »
The champion swimmer challenged anyone in the world to beat him. Our school challenged the neighboring school's team to a match.
2. to call to fight: »The knight challenged his rival to a duel. To challenge a person in reply to an insult is no longer customary.
3. to stop (a person) and question his right to do what he is doing or to be where he is: »When I tried to enter the building, the guard at the door challenged me.
4. to demand proof before one will accept; call in question; doubt; dispute: »The teacher challenged my statement that rice grows in Oregon.
5. Law. to object to (a juror) or question the admissibility of (evidence or testimony); question (a ruling): »The attorney for the defense challenged the evidence as hearsay.
6. U.S. to object to (a vote) as invalid or (a voter) as not qualified to vote.7. Figurative. a) to claim or command (effort, interest, or feeling): »Preventing disease is a problem that challenges the attention of the medical profession.
b) Archaic. to claim as one's due; lay claims to.–v.i.1. to issue a challenge; call for a fight or contest: »There was also speculation that France planned to challenge for the…America's cup (Douglas Phillips-Bart).
2. Law. to make a formal objection to a juror, the admission of evidence, or the like.3. (of hounds) to bay on finding the scent.4. Archaic. to demand a right; make a claim.╂[< Old French chalenger < Latin calumniārī slander < calumnia. See etym. of doublet calumniate. (Cf. ↑calumniate)]–n.1. a call to a game or contest. Giving a challenge often means that one undertakes to beat everybody else. »The champions accepted our team's challenge.
2. a call to fight: »His rival accepted the knight's challenge to a duel.
3. a sudden questioning or calling to answer and explain: »“Who goes there?” is the guard's challenge.
4. a demand for proof of the truth of a statement; a doubting or questioning of the truth of a statement: »The teacher's challenge of my statement about rice in Oregon led me to read widely about agriculture there.
5. anything that claims or commands effort, interest, or feeling: »Fractions are a real challenge to him. It is a challenge to archaeology to try to straighten out the conflicting versions of Maya history (Scientific American).
6. Law. an objection made to a juror, a ruling, or the admission of certain evidence or testimony: »The judge upheld the challenge and dismissed the juror from duty.
7. U.S. an objection to a vote as invalid, or to a voter as not qualified to vote.╂[< Old French chalenge, earlier chalonge < Latin calumnia false accusation. See etym. of doublet calumny. (Cf. ↑calumny)]–chal´lenge|a|ble, adjective.–chal´leng|er, noun.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
