Synonyms of balking

balking 1 of 3

adjective

as in frustrating

Related Words

• frustrating
• baffling
• blocking
• negating
• thwarting
• nullifying
• neutralizing
• foiling
• impeding
• hampering
• retardant
• deterring
• hindering
• deterrent
• stalling
• preventive
• precautionary
• prophylactic
• preventative

Dissimilar Words

• assisting
• aiding
• facilitating
• encouraging
• smoothing
• abetting
• promoting
• nurturing
• easing
• fostering
• forwarding
• furthering

balking

2 of 3

noun

as in thwarting

Related Words

• thwarting
• baffling
• crossing
• deterrence
• frustration
• debarment
• forbidding
• checkmate
• barring
• nullification
• determent
• prohibiting
• foiling
• neutralization
• outlawing
• negation
• enjoining
• proscribing
• prohibition
• avoidance
• circumvention
• proscription
• interdiction
• prevention
• interdicting
• precluding
• averting
• forestallment

Dissimilar Words

• support
• assistance
• aid
• backing
• encouragement
• promotion
• cultivation
• facilitation
• advancement
• nurture

balking

3 of 3

verb

present participle of balk

as in hampering

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• frustrating
• hampering
• baffling
• thwarting
• stopping
• preventing
• overcoming
• defeating
• impeding
• beating
• halting
• hindering
• discomfiting
• stalling
• blocking
• foiling
• obstructing
• checkmating
• hobbling
• inhibiting
• checking
• arresting
• barring
• interfering (with)
• handicapping
• clogging
• precluding
• obviating
• encumbering
• holding back
• averting
• forestalling
• negating
• tying up
• conquering
• nullifying
• fettering
• offsetting
• neutralizing
• counteracting
• shackling
• manacling
• short-circuiting
• setting back
• trammeling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• promoting
• encouraging
• advancing
• fostering
• assisting
• furthering
• cultivating
• forwarding
• aiding
• facilitating
• nurturing
• easing
• abetting
• smoothing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of balking

Verb

Many residents are balking at that timing and at Ryan’s lawsuit against Killingly’s wetlands board for rejecting the first version of the plan on July 6. — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 6 Aug. 2026

Others were less sympathetic, balking at Crespi’s counter-offer and stating that Crespi’s employment must be discussed publicly because the DDA is a public agency beholden to the state’s Sunshine Law. — Tess Riski august 5, Miami Herald, 5 Aug. 2026

But the Senate is balking at that budget, leaving lawmakers far from agreement on a binding piece of legislation that can get 50 GOP votes. — Max Tani, semafor.com, 22 July 2026

Montreal was one of the cities that pulled out of the process after balking at increasing cost estimates. — Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026

Higher education is under siege, with many students and parents balking at high costs. — Washington Post, 10 June 2026

But Democrats are now balking at a long-term extension over their objections to Pulte. — John Parkinson, ABC News, 9 June 2026

GitHub users who have grown accustomed to using its Copilot integration as part of their workflow are balking at cost estimates as the service moves toward per-token billing, rather than per-request billing, Ars Technica reports. — Jon Martindale, PC Magazine, 2 June 2026

Philip Roth and John Updike can be accused of many things, but balking at full-frontal heterosexuality is not one of them. — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 1 June 2026