as in frustrating
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Dissimilar Words
as in thwarting
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
as in hampering
to prevent from achieving a goal
a young man with big dreams who refused to be balked by the many challenges he faced in making them a reality
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of balking
Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 16 Dec. 2025
Progressive Democrats are balking, citing a lack of clarity on healthcare subsidies.
—Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 10 Nov. 2025
According to Disney, the carriage fee increases that Google is balking at are in line with what Disney has successfully negotiated with other distributors, including it own Hulu + Live TV and Fubo services.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 31 Oct. 2025
After years of balking, the Intelligence Community is now embracing this commercial turn.
—Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
San Diego hotel and restaurant owners are balking at a city proposal to charge them steeply higher fees for their valet parking spaces and on-street outdoor dining areas.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Oct. 2025
Other comedians have pointed to the inconsistency of balking at performing in Saudi Arabia when other governments around the world also sponsor morally unjustifiable actions.
—Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
Soliman’s legal team filed statements from all three balking at how DHS had cherry-picked their research.
—Hannah Allam, ProPublica, 10 Sep. 2025
As age checks become more commonplace across the Internet due to regulatory pressure globally, people motivated to defend digital freedom are balking and increasingly banding together, Gerfdas said.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 12 Aug. 2025
Verb
Some Fed officials are balking at further cuts while inflation remains above the central bank’s 2% target.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for balking
Adjective
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For athletes, the C1 solves a frustrating, age-old problem.—
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The reality is that traditional investigative journalism is a frequently boring and frustrating endeavor that takes a lot of time, money, and patience.—
Verb
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This left the country without a regular budget for next year and is hampering plans for long-overdue structural reforms and decisions on use of EU support funds.—
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Decades-old grids in the US are hampering new energy rollouts, and Spain’s huge blackout in April was blamed on an aged system unable to cope with power swings.—
Adjective
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The fact no one has picked up this exceptional docu from director David Kittredge is baffling, leading me to think somehow it is cursed, much the same way the original Exorcist was thought to be while in production.—
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There are several baffling visual motifs, like Jonah’s insistence on wearing the tightest possible shirt in which to teach high-school English or Miller’s ever-flexing jaw muscle.—
Noun
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Reaching the summit requires a strenuous 15-mile hike round-trip, with water crossings, loose rocks, and a steep climb at altitude.—
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And Miller expects regular updates on detention capacity, deportation flights, and border crossings.—
Verb
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Justin was arguably United’s man of the match, personally thwarting Florian Wirtz with two last-gasp blocks in the first half as a wing-back, before proving equally dependable at centre-back in the latter stages.—
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Askarov finished with 20 saves for the Sharks, including thwarting Quinn Hughes on an overtime breakaway.—
Noun
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Strategically speaking, this new system will align with Australia’s growing focus on maritime security and deterrence.—
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But nearly 60,000 other voters marked for deterrence in the area around I-95 did not show up to the polls — a drop of six percentage points among those same voters compared to 2012, according to a Herald analysis.—
Verb
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The Rhode founder and her stylist Dani Michele delivered a show-stopping moment on the red carpet, pulling a shimmering 2009 Armani Privé gown from the archives.—
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Stroll through the Funk Zone, stopping at wineries, breweries, and local shops along the way.—
Noun
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British officials downplayed the pause as temporary, insisting momentum would resume amid complex negotiations, but the impasse signals broader frustrations with Europe’s regulatory posture toward American innovation, market access, and economic sovereignty.—
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Emotions were on full display with many expressing sadness and frustration, not only over Wednesday's federal raid, but raids happening around the Twin Cities over the last 40 days.—
Cite this Entry
“Balking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balking. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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