balk — OET · Shobdo

balk (also baulk)

verb

1 sensitive gardeners who balk at using pesticides:

eschew, resist, refuse to, be unwilling to, draw the line at, be reluctant to, draw back from, flinch from, shrink from, shy from, recoil from, quail at, demur from, hesitate over, scruple to, take exception to, not like to, hate to, jib at;

scorn, disdain.

▷antonyms accept.

2 they were balked by traffic:

impede, obstruct, thwart, hinder, prevent, check, stop, curb, halt, bar, block, forestall, frustrate, stall, baffle, foil, defeat, beat, counteract, head off.

▷antonyms assist.

balk Oxford Dictionary of English