balkiness

noun

Definition of balkinessnext
as in rebellion
refusal to obey the teen's unrelenting balkiness was truly frustrating

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for balkiness
  1. rebellion
  2. defiance
  3. willfulness
  4. disrespect
Noun
  • In reality, the big debate has been about questions such as whether military bases should be named for traitors and whether governments should host monuments to a rebellion to defend slavery.
    — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026
  • Songwriting happened naturally as a rebellion to learning certain chords.
    — Leigh Nordstrom, Footwear News, 20 July 2026
Definition of rebellion
Noun
  • The protests mark a rare show of defiance against the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
    — Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 20 July 2026
  • But that successful act of cheating is central to Maradona’s legend, as is his defiance in the aftermath.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 16 July 2026
Definition of defiance
Noun
  • Those leaders who ignore or flout the law aren’t merely unethical but fatally arrogant, putting their childish willfulness over the wisdom of generations.
    — David Brooks, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Though the Durutti Column had been a disaster, Wilson was fascinated by the guitarist, who admired punk’s willfulness even though his own musical taste tended toward jazz, blues, and the classical tradition.
    — Brad Shoup, Pitchfork, 24 Jan. 2026
Definition of willfulness
Noun
  • Otero Alcántara, who was serving five years on charges of showing disrespect to national symbols, was set to be released from Guanjay, a maximum-security prison roughly 35 miles southwest of Havana, on July 9.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 15 July 2026
  • In 2022, a court sentenced him to five years in prison for public disorder, contempt and disrespect toward national symbols.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 July 2026
Definition of disrespect
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.

Browse Nearby Words

balked (at)
balkiness
balking
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Balkiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balkiness. Accessed 26 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of aerie

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All