as in refused
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 balked (at)
Verb
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Meanwhile, Larysa was stuck in Belarus, a country allied with Russia that Nataliia despised and had refused to move to, despite her daughter’s many pleas.—
Lizzie Johnson,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026 -
The Nuggets refused to engage, declining to respond on the off day.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Prosecutors said Maya’s ballot was counted in the recall election, but rejected the following year.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
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The shareholders, however, rejected WBD CEO David Zaslav‘s lucrative compensation package, sending a message to its board in the process.—
Alex Weprin,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Westerheide declined to answer follow-up questions about the Patton autopsy.—
Kelly Davis,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
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That tax collector, Cheryl Blogoslawski, was suspended from her job in January, not long after a new mayor, Democrat Bobby Sanchez, took office after Stewart declined to seek a seventh two-year term.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
25 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Balked (at).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balked%20%28at%29. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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