as in frustrating
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as in thwarting
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of balking
John B. King, Washington Post, 3 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
According to Puck, YouTube may sit out entirely after balking at splitting a five-game package with Netflix.
—Bobby Burack Outkick, FOXNews.com, 11 May 2026
Then came the eighth inning, which saw Yankees longman Ryan Yarbrough give up a grand slam to Jo Adell after balking and intentionally walking Trout.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 16 Apr. 2026
But out in the world, shoppers started balking at the cost of a bag of chips.
—Wire Tbd, Dallas Morning News, 8 Apr. 2026
But out in the world, shoppers started balking at the cost of a bag of chips.
—Bloomberg, Oc Register, 7 Apr. 2026
The notion of characterizing such a move as anything more than penalizing the public — which is finally balking at more taxation — is nonsense.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Mar. 2026
Verb
Higher education is under siege, with many students and parents balking at high costs.
—John B. King, Washington Post, 3 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
According to Puck, YouTube may sit out entirely after balking at splitting a five-game package with Netflix.
—Bobby Burack Outkick, FOXNews.com, 11 May 2026
Then came the eighth inning, which saw Yankees longman Ryan Yarbrough give up a grand slam to Jo Adell after balking and intentionally walking Trout.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 16 Apr. 2026
But out in the world, shoppers started balking at the cost of a bag of chips.
—Wire Tbd, Dallas Morning News, 8 Apr. 2026
But out in the world, shoppers started balking at the cost of a bag of chips.
—Bloomberg, Oc Register, 7 Apr. 2026
The notion of characterizing such a move as anything more than penalizing the public — which is finally balking at more taxation — is nonsense.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for balking
Adjective
-
Korda’s final putt of the day curled in the right side of the cup to solidify her second consecutive round of 67 at Riviera after beginning the championship with a frustrating 2-over 73.—
Gabby Herzig,
New York Times,
7 June 2026
-
Deer And Rabbit Damage Deer have a frustrating habit of nibbling the flowers off of hydrangeas.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
7 June 2026
Noun
-
The attack’s thwarting was an undeniable success.—
Shane Harris,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The thwarting of the Charlotte Hornets, one of the NBA’s fastest squads, is the quintessential White play.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Last year, Alexander Isak’s eventual defection following a summer-long saga proved disastrous, hampering Newcastle’s own business, which had already been affected by Paul Mitchell’s departure as sporting director in May and by being pipped to their top targets.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
-
Deep mistrust among some people in the town is hampering response efforts to the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus — for which there is no vaccine.—
Emmet Livingstone,
NPR,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
And then getting to support Taylor was just baffling and wild, and just so cool and so affirming.—
Jack Irvin,
PEOPLE,
8 June 2026
-
Gritty Nobody ever said Pennsylvania was short on personality—and hometown pride takes a baffling but beloved form in Gritty, the Philly Flyers mascot.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 June 2026
Noun
-
The new bridge will provide a third border crossing option at the Detroit River.—
Paula Wethington,
CBS News,
9 June 2026
-
Connecting Highway 401 in Ontario with Interstate 75 in Michigan, the six-lane thoroughfare is expected to reduce congestion at surrounding border crossings while facilitating a freer flow of goods between the countries.—
Kate Nishimura,
Footwear News,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
Bussi got the nod after stopping 18 of 19 shots in relief of Andersen in Game 3 in the third period and two overtimes.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
-
Afterward, locals recommend stopping at Lake Hollywood Park for fresh fruit topped with Tajín and chamoy.—
Alia Beard Rau,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
Adjective
-
The winner was the player who avoided being blocked the longest — a blocking game, a category of strategy game where the objective centers on restricting your opponent’s movement.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz told Polish broadcaster TVP on Tuesday that nuclear deterrence would be discussed during a NATO meeting in Brussels on June 18.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 June 2026
-
With the Hai Kun nearing delivery, the modernization of the Chien Lung-class submarines nearing completion, and advanced torpedoes scheduled to arrive next year, Taiwan’s navy is steadily expanding its undersea warfare capabilities and strengthening its maritime deterrence posture.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Balking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balking. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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