as in rebellious
given to resisting authority or another's control
a balky toddler who only seemed to know the word "no" when told to do something
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of balky
Ayo Dosunmu is playing with a balky calf.
—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
The Legislature should pass her plan to streamline the balky State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) for construction.
—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
7 Apr. 2026
But asking a 30-year-old with balky legs to carry this burden is dangerous, if not foolish.
—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
5 Mar. 2026
The Venezuelan promptly sparked a Padres offense that had seen Machado labor with a balky elbow.
—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for balky
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
The Legislature should pass her plan to streamline the balky State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) for construction.
—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
7 Apr. 2026
But asking a 30-year-old with balky legs to carry this burden is dangerous, if not foolish.
—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
5 Mar. 2026
The Venezuelan promptly sparked a Padres offense that had seen Machado labor with a balky elbow.
—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for balky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for balky
Adjective
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This could bring about sudden ideas, or trigger rebellious impulses and creative imagination.
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In 2000 at age 15, he was sent to live in Australia with a host family because his father thought Zhang was too rebellious to stay in China.
Adjective
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Starmer had previously vowed to stand in any formal Labour leadership race triggered by rebel lawmakers who feating a 2029 election wipeout sought to replace him.
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Many rebel groups are offshoots of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which had been fighting to overthrow the government since the 1960s and had been the country's largest guerrilla organization.
Adjective
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The weather service’s forecast discussion for Kansas City said the stubborn heat could last through the Fourth of July.
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Against all odds, the stubborn housing market has become a hotspot for young talent.
Adjective
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Femi was defiant as he was interviewed in the ring following his victory.
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Laurie Whitwell Were South Africa unlucky after defiant defensive display?
Adjective
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Part of the problem is that, outside of their tenants’ pleas, landlords face neither any real pressure nor any legal requirement to install shutters and ceiling fans; even owners who want to do so are thwarted by recalcitrant co-op boards or finicky historic-preservation reviews.
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The patron saint of the 2024 Democratic National Convention was Fannie Lou Hamer—recalcitrant sharecropper turned agitator and, like the Democratic presidential nominee, a black woman.
Adjective
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And only DeMichelle’s Marguerite has the necessary command to bring this obstreperous monarch to heel.
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And when intelligence confirms that one of their vessels is engaged in armed smuggling operations, the president need not convene an obstreperous congressional committee before acting in such a manner to defend the American people.
Adjective
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What at first felt fun — like guiding a sweet wayward child — soon felt like a crazymaking psychological experiment.
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Power brings a warmer and more wayward sensibility to such material than, say, the German photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher, whose deadpan grids of coal tipples and water towers drained industrial structures of affect.
Adjective
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Value meets vision as the willful Sun activates your 2nd House of Finances in a quincunx to intense Pluto in your 9th House of Exploration.
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There is the willful weakness of Congress, the overblown power of the Supreme Court and the improbability of new Constitutional amendments.
Cite this Entry
“Balky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balky. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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