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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of balked But the prime minister balked at turning weapons on a family—and a veteran, no less. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026 Diamondbacks pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez blatantly balked in front of a crowd of 24,297, and the only four people who could fix it didn’t see it until watching a video afterward. — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2026 Many balked at the price tag, especially in light of the county’s ongoing budgetary woes. — Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 26 Aug. 2026 As eastern Connecticut in the past couple of years has become an economic development hotspot, many very small towns have balked at worsening traffic and noise along with the loss of the rural lifestyle. — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 23 Aug. 2026 However, the fact that the European ministers who provide funding for Ariane 6 balked at these upgrades may indicate growing impatience with the rocket’s cost. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 20 Aug. 2026 Russian President Vladimir Putin has balked at negotiating a peace deal directly with Zelensky. — Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026 Democratic activists balked, Hilton stepped down and investments dried up. — Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 10 Aug. 2026 And, while other states had balked at the fifty-million-dollar price tag that Hubbard deemed necessary for the clinical trials, Texas had ended the year with a twenty-four-billion-dollar budget surplus from oil and gas revenues. — Michelle Lhooq, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for balked
  1. frustrated
  2. baffled
  3. hampered
  4. thwarted
Verb
  • But Moores would express misery in recalling ballpark-construction hassles and MLB politics that frustrated his advocacy of small-market clubs and game-day affordability.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
  • After all, the class was her sanctuary through a breakup, during feelings of inadequacy and when she was frustrated with work.
    — Sneha Dhandapani, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of frustrated
Verb
  • She is baffled by the way her friends Moe and Fumina rail against their parents, especially when Yuko is always holding back at home, forever walking on eggshells.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Al Roker was baffled to come face to face with his doppelgänger on the Today show plaza.
    — Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of baffled
Verb
  • The lack of wreckage has hampered efforts to determine the cause of the sinking and where to focus search operations, authorities said.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The shouting match ultimately ended with Anthony deciding not to testify, a decision his attorneys said hampered his ability to effectively claim self-defense in the killing.
    — Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of hampered
Verb
  • As the writer and the actor spend time together, and the narrator tries to pry open some small window into M’s psyche, the process of gathering material is constantly being thwarted by M’s casual instructability.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Others have genuine accessibility issues, from those who don’t live close to movie theaters to superfans thwarted by rights deals that block their geographic locations from showing a movie or series.
    — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of thwarted

Browse Nearby Words

balk (at)
balked
balked (at)
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Cite this Entry

“Balked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balked. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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