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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for balk (at)
Verb
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Indian officials had previously refused to confirm even a single aircraft loss.—
Billy Stockwell,
CNN Money,
31 May 2025 -
Wyatt, the senior ace on his way to Michigan, and Walker, the gritty junior second baseman who refused to give up on his dream of starting, paused when trying to wrap their heads around the scene unfolding around them.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
31 May 2025
Verb
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Paramount is currently engaged in mediation talks with Trump’s attorneys, who recently rejected a $15 million settlement offer and threatened further litigation, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week.—
Dominick Mastrangelo,
The Hill,
30 May 2025
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Brentford have rejected an offer of around €9million (£7.6m; $10.2m) from Bayer Leverkusen for their first-choice goalkeeper Mark Flekken but negotiations are ongoing over a potential deal.—
Jay Harris,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Verb
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Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo declined to comment on the WSJ report.—
John Bacon,
USA Today,
26 May 2025
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The State Department declined to comment on the pope’s status.—
Russ Bynum,
Chicago Tribune,
25 May 2025
Verb
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Now, if McLaughlin, Badie or Watson is just more productive day in and day out during training camp, he could get passed up.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
28 May 2025
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She had just been offered her own HGTV show, Home in a Heartbeat with Galey Alix, and the opportunity was too good to pass up.—
Jordana Comiter,
People.com,
28 May 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 4 Jun. 2025.
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