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
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Tommy Thompson, a deep-sea explorer who spent more than a decade in federal custody for refusing to disclose the location of a cache of gold coins from a historic shipwreck, was released from prison.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
12 Mar. 2026 -
Tommy Thompson, a research scientist who was imprisoned for a decade after refusing to disclose where an 1800s shipwreck's gold coins were being stored, was released, according to federal Bureau of Prisons records.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Taiwan’s defense ministry expressed its thanks for the authorization, rejecting opposition claims the plans were opaque.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
13 Mar. 2026
-
The young butterfly teaches his mother important lessons in accepting others and not rejecting them based on their color.—
Helen I. Bennett,
Hartford Courant,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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And the financial incentive for workers to take the leap to a new job has been steadily declining for years, as employees cling to their roles and hiring stagnates.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
12 Mar. 2026
-
For city officials, the agreement marks the most significant progress yet in their efforts to see the Sunrise Mall redeveloped from a declining retail center into a vibrant, mixed-use property with housing, entertainment and hotels.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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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
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But Schottenheimer’s reason for frequently passing up field goals for touchdowns had some logic behind it.—
Tim Cowlishaw,
Dallas Morning News,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Shortly after turning down the big job, her career took on a whole new direction.—
Kemi Alemoru,
Glamour,
14 Mar. 2026
-
No one is turning down the heat.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
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 18 Mar. 2026.
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