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)
Verb
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The rest of the indictment remains, with the judge refusing to dismiss another second-degree murder charge, to which Mangione has pleaded not guilty.—
Aaron Katersky,
ABC News,
20 Sep. 2025 -
Ignoring the rule of law and refusing to provide evidence or due process makes this an execution.—
Anna Commander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Tesla's world class at rejecting how things were done previously.—
James Morris,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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The roughly 3,200 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 837 went on strike on August 4 after rejecting the company’s previous offer.—
Reuters 20 min ago,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Investors eventually demanded their money back, causing Artamonov to return less than $400,000 by paying original investors with money from new investors or by declining to reimburse them at all, the indictment said.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
19 Sep. 2025
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Still, any further restrictions on shots by ACIP could have trickle-down effects, further depressing already declining immunization rates for vaccine-preventable diseases and raising the risk of outbreaks.—
Annika Kim Constantino,
CNBC,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That’s still true now, even as that back has a degenerative disorder that led to weeks missed in training camp and has this 37-year-old dirting the ball in the face of rushers and passing up lanes to rush for touchdowns.—
Nate Atkins,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
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In fact, passing up the Chiefs is the team’s top challenge entering Harbaugh’s second season.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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At the time, she had also been accepted to Juilliard and considered turning down the role.—
Hannah Parry
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
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But if United chose this path by signing two big-money attacking midfielders this summer, so too did Fernandes by turning down Al Hilal’s offer to play in the Saudi Pro League.—
Mark Critchley,
New York Times,
25 Aug. 2025
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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 21 Sep. 2025.
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