as in frustrated
to prevent from achieving a goal
a young man with big dreams who refused to be balked by the many challenges he faced in making them a reality
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Recent Examples of balked
Trump’s statement came after Senate Republicans have balked at a new Democratic proposal to end the shutdown that would include extending expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies for one year.
—
Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025
The men balked at any suggestion that their purchases were illicit and explained their focus on Florida as strictly a business decision.
—Karen Wang, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
Pelosi backed the committee’s conclusion that the intelligence community never had specific intelligence that could have prevented the 9/11 attacks but balked at supporting Bush’s preparations to invade Iraq.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 6 Nov. 2025
Still others balked at the checkout total.
—Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 6 Nov. 2025
Among the reasons being floated on social media is that Dick Monfort balked at the idea of allowing a new front-office boss to clean house and bring in his own staff.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 6 Nov. 2025
Foster was dead set on Shiksa, but Netflix executives balked.
—Lacey Rose, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2025
Initially, city staff planners balked at the plan and recommended the project be denied because roughly 70% of the structure would be dedicated to the parking garage.
—Alysa Guffey, IndyStar, 22 Oct. 2025
As stated, sports teams continue to appreciate, which could be a huge reason why Ross balked at the idea of $10 billion.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025
The men balked at any suggestion that their purchases were illicit and explained their focus on Florida as strictly a business decision.
—Karen Wang, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
Pelosi backed the committee’s conclusion that the intelligence community never had specific intelligence that could have prevented the 9/11 attacks but balked at supporting Bush’s preparations to invade Iraq.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 6 Nov. 2025
Still others balked at the checkout total.
—Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 6 Nov. 2025
Among the reasons being floated on social media is that Dick Monfort balked at the idea of allowing a new front-office boss to clean house and bring in his own staff.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 6 Nov. 2025
Foster was dead set on Shiksa, but Netflix executives balked.
—Lacey Rose, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2025
Initially, city staff planners balked at the plan and recommended the project be denied because roughly 70% of the structure would be dedicated to the parking garage.
—Alysa Guffey, IndyStar, 22 Oct. 2025
As stated, sports teams continue to appreciate, which could be a huge reason why Ross balked at the idea of $10 billion.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for balked
Verb
-
Beyond cost, wealthy investors are also frustrated with service.—
Robert Frank,
CNBC,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Brandes, frustrated by the lack of answers on testing in prisons, chimed in Thursday during a Florida Health Care Association conference call about the nursing home issue.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Played for comic relief, he is baffled by this son of his who attends college and, more perplexing yet, is suddenly obsessed with Italy and cycling.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Physicists were baffled as to why this material would suddenly stop conducting current once the tellurium content reached approximately 30 percent—a change that its basic chemical composition could not explain.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
This isn’t the first time injuries have hampered Norfleet.—
Chase Gemes,
Kansas City Star,
7 Nov. 2025
-
All of these issues combined have left Target with a workforce that has grown faster than sales and a complex corporate structure that has hampered decision-making and created needless red tape.—
Gabrielle Fonrouge,Annie Palmer,Frank Holland,
CNBC,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
But with the teams back to even strength a short time later, Kirill Kaprizov got loose in the middle of the offensive zone and made a rush to the net that was thwarted.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
7 Nov. 2025
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Unit 11000 of Iran’s Quds Force initiated the plot at the end of last year, and the plot was active earlier this year, but was thwarted over the summer, according to Axios.—
Mike Brest,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Balked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balked. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
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