balks (at)

verb

present tense third-person singular of balk (at)
as in refuses
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 balks (at)
  1. refuses
  2. rejects
  3. declines
Verb
  • For Wilder residents, the La Catedral raid remains an open wound that refuses to heal.
    — Philip Wang, Time, 19 Oct. 2026
  • After that, Grace all but disappears from Crystal Lake, exposing the haphazard plotting of a show that refuses to commit.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of refuses
Verb
  • But the arrangement rejects the conflict of interest protections that his recent predecessors in office had instituted.
    — Fatima Hussein, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Israel rejects this, viewing the territory as disputed rather than occupied.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of rejects
Verb
  • And women going through perimenopause and menopause lose muscle even faster because their estrogen declines.
    — Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Tracking Wall Street declines overnight, Asia markets tumbled Thursday.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of declines
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

balks
balks (at)
balky
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Cite this Entry

“Balks (at).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balks%20%28at%29. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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