challenged

This page is about the euphemism challenged

Meaning

more limited mentally or physically than most people

For example

  • Our special students are physically or mentally challenged in some way.

  • She's physically challenged and uses a wheelchair, but she's very active.

Note:
The word "challenged" is a politically-correct euphemism for the old-fashioned and offensive word "handicapped". It's also found in many euphemisms that make fun of political correctness, like "vertically challenged" for a short person, "follicly challenged" for a bald person, and "cerebrally challenged" for a person who isn't very clever.

Quick Quiz

Compared to "handicapped", the word "challenged" is

a. less offensive

b. more offensive

c. just as offensive
a) less offensive b) more offensive c) just as offensive

Contributor: Matt Errey