challenging hour

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "challenging hour" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe a difficult or demanding period of time, often in a context where one is facing obstacles or stress. Example: "The meeting turned into a challenging hour as we navigated through the complex issues at hand."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Academia

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

4 human-written examples

The Feasting Hall Of Valhalla is filling up with the Ancient Norse Gods for the Challenging Hour.

BBC

Fast forward six days to the return flight, scheduled at the challenging hour of 6 20 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning.

The New York Times

AT Lincoln Center last Friday morning, at the somewhat challenging hour of 9 30, the fashion and reality-TV worlds converged into one during the taping of the finale of this season's edition of "Project Runway".

The New York Times

In particular, in what follows we focus our attention on one of the most challenging hour of the day, namely we consider the time series at 2 p.m. Nevertheless, it is worth to mention that different hours, albeit being characterized by their specific peculiarities, can be analogously treated exploiting our approach.

Journal of Mathematics in Industry

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

56 human-written examples

We also challenge 'our' or 'their' current practice of dealing with complexity.

Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source

1. RISING TO A VISION -- The San Francisco Opera gave the American stage premiere of Messiaen's visionary, mystical and hugely challenging five-hour opera "St.

The New York Times - Arts

Mr. Bush issued his challenge hours before flying to Chicago, where he planned to begin the Labor Day kickoff of the general election campaign.

The New York Times

Ochsner Health System was selected for their work in AI to predict potential patient challenges hours before they might occur.

Forbes

But there are many days when we aren't striving for anything more than getting through the day, picking off challenges hour-by-hour and sometimes, minute-by-minute.

HuffPost

Briefly, animals were injected with saline or increasing doses of METH and then challenged 72 hours later with saline or a toxic dose of METH (5 mg/kg×8 injections, given one hour apart).

Plosone

"I met with Chet Kanojia and spent an hour challenging him and understanding the technology, and I couldn't find a flaw," Mr. Diller said.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "challenging hour" to describe a specific, limited timeframe that presents significant difficulties or obstacles. For example, "The team faced a challenging hour while troubleshooting the critical system failure".

Common error

Avoid using "challenging hour" to describe ongoing, long-term difficulties. This phrase suggests a concentrated period of difficulty, not a persistent state. Instead of "The project has been a challenging hour", use "The project has been consistently challenging".

Linguistic Context

The phrase "challenging hour" functions as an adjective-noun phrase, where "challenging" modifies the noun "hour". Ludwig AI confirms its correct usage for describing a difficult or demanding period. It typically specifies a limited timeframe characterized by difficulties or obstacles.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

30%

Science

30%

Academia

20%

Less common in

Formal & Business

10%

Encyclopedias

5%

Wiki

5%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "challenging hour" is a grammatically sound phrase used to describe a specific, difficult one-hour period. As Ludwig AI confirms, it's correctly used in various contexts, particularly in news, science, and academia. While not a very common phrase, its usage is consistent. When writing, remember that "challenging hour" denotes a concentrated period of difficulty, not a general state, and alternatives like "difficult time" or "demanding period" may be more appropriate in some situations.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

difficult time

Replaces "hour" with a more general term for a period, implying a tough duration.

demanding period

Substitutes "challenging" with "demanding" and "hour" with "period", emphasizing the intensity and duration.

testing time

Uses "testing" to convey the difficulty and "time" to represent the duration.

tough moment

Replaces "challenging" with "tough" and "hour" with "moment", focusing on a specific difficult point.

critical juncture

Implies a challenging time due to its importance and potential consequences.

trying time

Conveys the difficulty of the hour through the word "trying".

hard stretch

Emphasizes a continuous period of difficulty.

taxing interval

Highlights the draining nature of the hour.

eventful span

While not always negative, "eventful" can imply a period filled with challenging events.

intense phase

Focuses on the high level of activity and potential difficulty during that time.

FAQs

How can I use "challenging hour" in a sentence?

You can use "challenging hour" to describe a specific, limited timeframe that presents significant difficulties or obstacles. For example, "The meeting turned into a "challenging hour" as we navigated through the complex issues at hand." or "The surgery's most "challenging hour" was when the patient's blood pressure dropped suddenly."

What can I say instead of "challenging hour"?

You can use alternatives like "difficult time", "demanding period", or "tough moment" depending on the specific context and nuance you want to convey.

Is "challenging hour" formal or informal?

"Challenging hour" can be used in both formal and informal contexts, although it's generally more suited to neutral or professional settings. The formality depends more on the surrounding vocabulary and sentence structure.

What makes an hour "challenging"?

An hour can be described as "challenging" when it presents significant difficulties, obstacles, or demands that require considerable effort, skill, or resilience to overcome. This could be due to complex problems, high-pressure situations, or unexpected events.