balk (at)

verb

Definition of balk (at)next
as in to refuse
to show unwillingness to accept, do, engage in, or agree to she balked at lending him any more money

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for balk (at)
  1. refuse
  2. reject
  3. decline
  4. pass up
Verb
  • In a separate case previously reported by TheTravel, another Canadian woman described being refused entry after repeatedly spending three months with her American boyfriend before returning to Canada for just two or three weeks.
    — Rich Percival, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2026
  • McNear said Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown abruptly changed a practice that's been in effect for decades by refusing to accept people with arrest warrants who had not seen a magistrate judge.
    — Dawn White, CBS News, 14 Nov. 2026
Definition of refuse
Verb
  • Zelenskyy also rejected the possibility of Ukraine committing to neutrality, saying that would require changing the country's constitution.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Nov. 2026
  • Voters rejected Proposition 40, but passed Proposition 42, closing off a potential source of money for the state.
    — Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 14 Nov. 2026
Definition of reject
Verb
  • Hip-hop discourse, in recent years, has fixated on declining metrics as some arbiter of cultural failure.
    — Andre Gee, Pitchfork, 13 Nov. 2026
  • The state forecasts that emissions in the transportation sector will continue to decline as electric and more energy efficient cars replace older ones.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 13 Nov. 2026
Definition of decline
Verb
  • These finds are too good to pass up and likely won’t last long.
    — Brittany VanDerBill, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Nov. 2026
  • For some governors, the move may be too politically tempting to pass up.
    — Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of pass up
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

balkanized
balk (at)
balked
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Balk (at).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balk%20%28at%29. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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