BALKED Synonyms: 60 Similar and Opposite Words

balked

verb

past tense of balk

as in frustrated

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

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Recent Examples of balked After a home run by Cedric Mullins trimmed the deficit to 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth, Cole Sulser yielded a leadoff single to slumping Angel Martínez in the ninth and balked him to second base. — ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026 Some investors balked at its lack of a track record, while others were unnerved by Volta’s reliance on Anthropic to buy much of the data center’s compute. — Ellen Dimauro, semafor.com, 13 Oct. 2026 When a Pomona business owner balked at paying for protection, Argumedo showed up with a gun and loaded the business’ property into a U-Haul truck, prosecutors wrote in a complaint filed earlier this year. — Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026 The powers that be balked at the sequel’s 48 percent drop from the first installment’s $125 million worldwide gross, which outperformed any and all expectations back in 2017. — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026 After an anecdote having to do with cocaine use in another band around the time that guitarist Jimmy McColloch departed, Apatow asked if drugs were a big issue in Wings starting to fall apart in the late ’70s, but McCartney balked at that idea. — Chris Willman, Variety, 29 Sep. 2026 Others balked at the shortage of information being provided, and warned that the public should get specifics about any retail expected for the property. — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 25 Sep. 2026 That’s the same amount that tipped workers will make next year in Denver, where city leaders have so far balked at adjusting wages. — Max Scheinblum, Denver Post, 25 Sep. 2026 After doctors recommended a shunt implant into his brain, Joel balked. — Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for balked

Verb

And the coach of the supposedly Super Bowl-favorite Rams is frustrated.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
This is in fact the same problem that has frustrated earlier attempts by the United States and its allies to stop antiship drone and missile strikes by the Houthis in Yemen.

— Justin Bronk, Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of frustrated

Verb

Beyond being frustrated with the secrecy, locals said they were baffled by the lack of specifics and clarity the stakeholders had about the project, per the records.

— Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2026
And just last month, officials in Millcreek, Utah, were baffled to find an unknown camera installed on city property that neither the city nor police requested.

— Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of baffled

Verb

The domestic economy is otherwise moribund, hampered by bad debts and a shrinking labor force.

— RUCHIR SHARMA, Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2026
Special teams miscues and penalties once again hampered the Rams in a game that featured three touchdown passes by Matthew Stafford and a career-best 17 catches by Puka Nacua.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of hampered

Verb

As a major bloc that has been able to apply pressure, the union has thwarted several efforts by Mamdani’s predecessors to ban the attraction, as hundreds of carriage operators make a living operating the buggies.

— Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 14 Oct. 2026
On the next play, Bolden sacked Russell and thwarted the Crimson Tide’s chances of kicking a game-tying field goal.

— Ryan Gaydos OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of thwarted

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balk (at)

balked

balked (at)

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“Balked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balked. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of balked

verb

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