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balking (at)

verb

present participle of balk (at)
as in refusing
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 balking (at)
  1. refusing
  2. rejecting
  3. declining
  4. passing up
  5. turning down
  6. throwing over
Verb
  • Kansas City finally slowed the Colts’ offense by refusing to give them the ball.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Major carriers from large swaths of the state are now refusing to insure even low-risk properties with minimal danger of burning.
    — Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of refusing
Verb
  • The trend is less about rejecting smartphones and more about choosing which parts of them to keep.
    — Ashley Lynch, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The trend is less about rejecting technology than deciding how much attention a phone deserves.
    — Ashley Lynch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of rejecting
Verb
  • Compared to the rapidly declining number of referrals from traditional search engines — which once numbered in the tens of millions — these AI clicks are a tiny drop in the bucket.
    — Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 24 Sep. 2026
  • North Central President Abiódún Gòkè-Paríolá said he was thrilled by the enrollment numbers, especially as colleges across the country are grappling with a declining high school graduate population.
    — Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of declining
Verb
  • The game featured a fourth-quarter comeback by Mizzou and a Tigers fan passing up a chance to win $25k to troll the Jayhawks instead.
    — Justin Williams, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The Emmys’ producers passing up on even the slightest possibility of a Werner Herzog acceptance speech is sheer lunacy.
    — Joe Reid, Vulture, 20 June 2026
Definition of passing up
Verb
  • But for a sport the size of fencing, turning down attention is an unaffordable luxury.
    — Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Closing the curtains tightly before bed and turning down the thermostat also help.
    — Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of turning down
Verb
  • In his breakout season in 2025, Maye showed that one of his quarterbacking superpowers is throwing over the middle of the field.
    — Daniel Popper, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Tatis dealt with Patrick throwing over twice, and catcher Gary Sánchez snapping off a pickoff throw.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of throwing over
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

balking
balking (at)
balks
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Balking (at).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balking%20%28at%29. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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