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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Witnesses claimed Khales, now in Isfahan prison, did not commit a crime but refused to shoot in an act of humanity, the group said.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
21 Jan. 2026 -
Today, a Luddite is your grandparent who keeps looking at the screen rather than the camera when on Zoom, the Boomer who types in all-capital letters, the grouchy man who refuses to get a smart phone, the professor spewing invective against Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Brooklyn also alleged that his wife was not invited to his father’s 50th birthday party, and that he and his wife’s attempts to privately meet with David Beckham were rejected.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
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The board has twice recommended that shareholders reject Paramount’s hostile bid in favor of the Netflix transaction.—
Lillian Rizzo,
CNBC,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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So far, almost all Republicans have declined to put checks on Trump through the war powers votes.—
STEPHEN GROVES THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
23 Jan. 2026
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Nvidia declined to comment on executive travel plans.—
Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The chance to reunite with Silverfield and his staff, including former Memphis offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey, at Arkansas was too much to pass up.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Jan. 2026
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Still, the woman felt the opportunity was too valuable to pass up.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
6 Jan. 2026
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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 24 Jan. 2026.
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