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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for balking (at)
Verb
-
The Vatican’s 2023 declaration allowing an informal blessing, promulgated with virtually no consultation outside the Vatican, sharply divided the church, with African bishops delivering a continent-wide dissent and refusing to implement it.—
Nicole Winfield,
Fortune,
23 Apr. 2026 -
But by refusing to answer even the most basic disclosure-and-recusal questions, the network is asking the public to simply trust that its internal standards worked exactly as intended.—
Dan Zaksheske OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Trump has criticized European countries for rejecting or hesitating to get involved in the war with Iran.—
NPR Staff,
NPR,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Questionable fee calculations, bait and switch practices and rejecting measures to improve transparency are not ways to earn that support.—
Jan Goldsmith,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Nuggets refused to engage, declining to respond on the off day.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Variety is tracking which programs could land on the Emmy ballots, and has once again found a declining pool of eligible series.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
During the costly possession when the Rebels let the shot clock expire with 41 seconds left, Thienou surprised her coach by passing up a shot while the crowd was roaring and clearly distracting the visitors.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
-
Redick pointed to Luka Doncic’s season-high 15 assists, which were lost in the noise of the Slovenian star passing up a potential game-winning 3-pointer.—
Benjamin Royer,
Oc Register,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods are among the sport’s top stars to steadfastly remain loyal to the PGA Tour, with Woods turning down an offer from LIV Golf of $800 million in 2022.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Some also favor turning down the heat and simmering eggs.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Pitchers are allowed two disengagements per plate appearance, either throwing over to first base or stepping off the rubber, or a combination of both.—
Abbey Mastracco,
Hartford Courant,
23 Mar. 2026
-
The zone-heavy Chargers forced Hurts to beat them by throwing over the middle — a region Hurts attacks half as often as his peers — and Hurts was inconsistent.—
Brooks Kubena,
New York Times,
9 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Balking (at).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balking%20%28at%29. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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