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)
Verb
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The Trump administration has tested the limits of this system by refusing to spend money that Congress had previously allocated.—
Camila Domonoske,
NPR,
25 June 2025 -
Pallone added Kennedy has refused to take public input about vaccines, including his decision to overhaul a vaccine advisory panel, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP.—
Ken Alltucker,
USA Today,
25 June 2025
Verb
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In response, Congress passed legislation seeking to limit a president's ability to wage war against Iran, which was again quickly rejected by Trump.—
Mariam Khan,
ABC News,
23 June 2025
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This can manifest into an AI tool that ends up rejecting qualified job candidates because it was trained on biased data.—
Janice Gassam Asare,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
Verb
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LeBron James already opted in to a $52.6 million deal with the Lakers for next season, the Rockets traded for Durant and the Los Angeles Clippers saw James Harden decline his option in return for a new deal and a raise.—
Tim Reynolds,
Chicago Tribune,
1 July 2025
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Three players ultimately declined to participate this time around: Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Thomas and Barry Bonds.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
30 June 2025
Verb
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There were questions about whether Houston would be willing to part ways with its promising young core, but the chance to land a former MVP like Durant was simply too good to pass up.—
Ricardo Klein,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 June 2025
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But act fast — Amazon’s outlet deals aren’t guaranteed to last, and these markdowns are too good to pass up.—
Clara McMahon,
People.com,
21 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Balk (at).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balk%20%28at%29. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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