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
  • The discipline is refusing to play the obvious one, which is accepting the first answer.
    — Terry Oroszi, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
  • This season,, Sanders is and refusing to look ahead when asked about the team’s first two Big 12 games against Baylor and the league’s defending champions, Texas Tech.
    — Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 July 2026
Definition of refusing
Verb
  • El-Sayed has built his campaign around bold policy proposals, rejecting corporate PAC money and casting himself as an alternative to the status quo of the Democratic Party.
    — Joey Cappelletti, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
  • Kalshi lost an attempt to override New York’s state gambling laws yesterday, with a federal judge rejecting the prediction market operator’s request to prevent enforcement of the rules.
    — Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 8 July 2026
Definition of rejecting
Verb
  • There has been a lot of hand-wringing about the declining population of Los Angeles County, which lost 54,000 people from July 2024 to July 2025, the biggest numeric population drop in the nation during that period, by far.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
  • For years now, Olathe Schools has talked about its problem of declining enrollment.
    — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 9 July 2026
Definition of declining
Verb
  • 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
  • The Supreme Court is staying out of a case about whether the Catholic Church misled parishioners about the purpose of an annual collection, passing up a chance to probe the independence churches have from government interference.
    — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 26 May 2026
Definition of passing up
Verb
  • Rock Hill Mayor John Gettys said the city has spent four years turning down redevelopment offers for Palmetto Research Park in an effort to hold the property for higher-wage employers.
    — John Marks, Charlotte Observer, 2 July 2026
  • Value your time by turning down unpaid tasks.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 17 June 2026
Definition of turning down
Verb
  • Anthony had a cortisone shot last week and had begun throwing over the weekend.
    — Jen McCaffrey, New York Times, 21 May 2026
  • Next, a gentle tip-tap rippling through major East Coast cities, as the girls collectively add to cart whatever Holmes is toting or throwing over her shoulders.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 26 Apr. 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
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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 10 Jul. 2026.

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