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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for balked (at)
Verb
-
The British newspaper reported that Hockney is believed to have turned down a knighthood on several occasions and is said to have once refused an invitation to paint the late Queen Elizabeth.—
Gina Kalsi,
PEOPLE,
12 June 2026 -
At multiple locations blocks from the Garden, crowds refused numerous verbal commands to disperse, police said.—
Meredith Deliso,
ABC News,
12 June 2026
Verb
-
In May 2023, Quiñones rejected a call-up to the national team, however, and began playing for Mexico later that year.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
12 June 2026
-
But initial attempts to send her to Tahiti, a French dependency, about 1,350 miles — or a 30-hour sea journey — from Pitcairn, were rejected by French Polynesian authorities.—
Matthew Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
Florida citrus acreage declined from nearly 749,000 acres in 2004 to approximately 275,000 acres in 2024.—
Paul Meador,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 June 2026
-
The National Labor Relations Board declined jurisdiction on narrow grounds, warning that allowing one private-school team to unionize while most FBS programs were public universities could create instability.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 June 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Balked (at).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balked%20%28at%29. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
