toggle menu
menu
vocabulary
1000+ books

balk
in a sentence

show 189 more with this conextual meaning
  • Thomas almost balked, not sure how to say what he was thinking.†   (source)
  • You can't be the chief of KHAD one day and the next day pray in a mosque with people whose relatives you tortured and killed" Feeling the noose tightening around Kabul, Najibullah tried to reach a settlement with the Mujahideen but the Mujahideen balked.†   (source)
  • I didn't even balk at Will's scars now.†   (source)
  • So why was I balking?†   (source)
  • They balked at attending the dance classes, renting a tailcoat, and going to so many parties where the chaperons tended to outnumber the young people.†   (source)
  • Here was Daddy, balked, not by a machine (he had talent and patience for machines), but by one of us, or by some trivial circumstance.†   (source)
  • "She owes allegiance to none but herself, and won't balk at putting a knife through your heart."†   (source)
  • He would have balked at letting me go undercover in the Lake sector for days on end, without a pair of strong backups and a team to follow me.†   (source)
  • And before I received Holy Communion, I balked at the general Confession.†   (source)
  • My mother balked: "You what?"†   (source)
  • Any savage balked in the forest would utter the double shout and hold up the line till he was free again.†   (source)
  • The editor of the story balked.†   (source)
  • I balk at his rudeness.†   (source)
  • Exercising extreme caution, I continued descending the tightrope of the ridge, but fifty feet above the oxygen cache the rope ended, and I balked at going farther without gas.†   (source)
  • As they neared Saphira, Cadoc balked, so Eragon leapt down and ran toward her.†   (source)
  • When Ruth learned what the request was, she balked.†   (source)
  • When Michael dribbled the ball between his legs, drove to the basket and rose up and dunked, Saban balked.†   (source)
  • There were times, apparently, when she took crazy, death-wish chances-things that even the Greenies balked at.†   (source)
  • Some students balked at my agreement.†   (source)
  • I pretend to balk, chew the edge of my lip, look away and then back to Desi.†   (source)
  • He wants as many men as you can spare—men who won't balk at a little knife work.†   (source)
  • The modern mind sometimes tends to balk at the thought of these dichotomies being inventions and says, "Well, the divisions were there for the Greeks to discover," and you have to say, "Where were they?†   (source)
  • A Seattle doctor had suggested sympathetic denervation of the limb—doing away with its ability to feel—but Ishmael had balked for unfathomable reasons.†   (source)
  • …the town Gazette and editor of the literary magazine and secretary of Honor Board, which deals with academic and social offenses and punishments-a popular office-and I had a well-known woman poet and professor on the faculty championing me for graduate school at the biggest universities in the east, and promises of full scholarships all the way, and now I was apprenticed to the best editor on an intellectual fashion magazine, and what did I do but balk and balk like a dull cart horse?†   (source)
  • Many of these inquiries lead nowhere; the man, when he's investigated, may be found to have too little money; or he may balk when someone suggests he give a gift of an expensive kimono as a gesture of goodwill.†   (source)
  • I think of the wealthy friend of Howard Hiatt's who balked at contributing to pih because, while he knew about Farmer's work in Haiti and considered it impressive, he doubted anyone could reproduce it.†   (source)
  • He balked around for a while, said it was all a question of balancin' the equities or something, that I was in an interesting but tenuous position.†   (source)
  • Metal twisted tight to balk her.†   (source)
  • The oxen were balking at walking in that blowing snow.†   (source)
  • Jason and Percy charged each other, but Tempest and Blackjack balked long enough for Piper to leap out of the way.†   (source)
  • Three years earlier I would have balked at a proposal from Moody-or anyone.†   (source)
  • The warder balked at touching trousers worn by a black man, and finally the commanding officer himself came to my cell to pick them up.†   (source)
  • Billy was balking like a mule.†   (source)
  • The Y balked.†   (source)
  • John balked the first time Yo told him the doctor's name and fees.†   (source)
  • He balked at that.†   (source)
  • This was an old bus, without automatic shifting, and the gear mechanism balked at changes, the gears grinding in protest, like old bones being disturbed.†   (source)
  • At this point, her aged father balked at leaving the house, insisting that the fire would change direction before it got to them.†   (source)
  • He was curious but gentle when I balked at explaining myself or my presence in his salon.†   (source)
  • I was flip but perfectly serious, and when the magus tried to force me, I balked.†   (source)
  • July got the job, but Benny remained resentful and had balked at even providing a new lock for the jail's one cell.†   (source)
  • He was overwhelmed and intimidated at the thought, and when he balked, Pinky beat him up.†   (source)
  • At first, he balked at the idea of working in the ghetto.†   (source)
  • The Nisei who were scheduled to leave last night balked.†   (source)
  • LaTisha and Tanya both balk.†   (source)
  • What mattered was that he had confessed, had come out with the truth, and not one of them—well, except for Kristoff, but he didn't count—had balked at the idea.†   (source)
  • Millard balked.†   (source)
  • On one side of the table, the side being occupied by Harry Rex, the strong feeling was that the jury should not be told because if the jurors knew that $24 million was in play and about to be given to Lettie Lang, they would balk.†   (source)
  • When other teams balked at playing them, Williamsport issued an ultimatum: Play or forfeit.†   (source)
  • I tried to think of whom among the district committee I might call for information concerning Clifton, but here again I was balked.†   (source)
  • Those who balked at the idea of an interview were cheerfully invited to come into Cop Central, charged with obstruction of justice.†   (source)
  • The Deuxième had balked for over six hours as phone calls went back and forth feverishly between Washington, Paris And, finally, Vienna, Virginia.†   (source)
  • And again the horse balked.†   (source)
  • He interpreted my silence correctly, as the balk it was.†   (source)
  • Warm is best, but I think your mom would balk at me heating it up in saucepans.†   (source)
  • "It was the cloak my lord father used when he wed my lady mother," she explained to the Tyrells, but the Queen of Thorns had balked her in that as well.†   (source)
  • A man on a horse would go after it, slashed by branches, cutting through tangles of hazel and hawthorn, his horse balking at the pain of thorns, and sometimes when the man found the ox he would fill it with arrows and leave it to the wolves.†   (source)
  • Max balked at her tone and eyed his watch.†   (source)
  • The museum's owners, however, balked at buying Oswald's original pine casket, which was replaced after his body was exhumed in 1981, saying it was too macabre.†   (source)
  • Instead of balking, she'd gone obediently where he'd taken her.†   (source)
  • Miss Love made a banner out of white sheeting and painted big capital letters on it that said: Grandpa had balked at free gifts, but Miss Love said the wholesale house in New York gave her a big boxful of sample thread, which would do for the ladies, and he could order stick candy and chewing gum to hand out to the men and children.†   (source)
  • A deep cut-bank draw ran through the pear flats between me and the huge mesquite tree I was heading for, and it was down in the bottom of this draw that the hogs balked.†   (source)
  • But the day she'd turned ten Ruby had balked.†   (source)
  • Some people would balk at the price tag.†   (source)
  • When we moved here after the fire, I noticed that some staffers balked when they first reached the bottom of the stairs.†   (source)
  • The northern cities, of course, balked at the demand.†   (source)
  • But we were balked.†   (source)
  • Certainly it would not make me rich, though I suspect I might in some small way augment an income badly depleted by the needs of your poor aunts down in N.C. But I am balked by the aforementioned serious qualms and reservations.†   (source)
  • ' "Dearest," said Aslan very gently, "you and your brother will never come balk to Narnia."†   (source)
  • They wove off into the night, stumbling over each other as one balked and the other yanked.†   (source)
  • The horses were taken, balking, out of the freight cars.†   (source)
  • No, sir, she'll beat him yet, balking.†   (source)
  • The horse balked at the jump.
  • The men balked, but the guards forced them forward, and the POWs began jumping.†   (source)
  • Eragon wanted to hide that as well, but Saphira balked.†   (source)
  • She didn't balk at the guards as she dodged and twirled around them.†   (source)
  • The vyes hesitated, talons twitching as they squinted and balked at this unexpected turn.†   (source)
  • You must not balk, whatever is asked of you, Qhorin had told him.†   (source)
  • "And a traitor," the queen said, balking.†   (source)
  • Horses and mules balk in their traces, confused by the noise and smelling the panic.†   (source)
  • The Morrigan's blade might have balked at the clones, but it had no misgivings about the malakhim.†   (source)
  • A trench appeared in the goddess's path, causing her horses to balk.†   (source)
  • The killer balked; they were within 10 feet of the darkened entrance.†   (source)
  • You must not balk, whatever is asked of you.†   (source)
  • I had my doubts as well, but you all saw how Ser Balon balked when I suggested that we go by sea.†   (source)
  • Cersei had never taken kindly to being balked, he knew that.†   (source)
  • The Halfhand commanded me, ride with them, watch, I must not balk, I I….†   (source)
  • And Pilgrim did not balk nor even for a moment demur.†   (source)
  • They hated floundering around in the deep snow and balked constantly.†   (source)
  • No one would have balked at my persecuting him then!†   (source)
  • When Rusty balked, Irene told her, Too bad.†   (source)
  • "Well, balk any time you want to, Gus," he said.†   (source)
  • Ellen was a loyal American who balked at the idea.†   (source)
  • You must not balk, whatever is asked of you.†   (source)
  • It was only when the men loped off to hunt that the mules were likely to balk.†   (source)
  • You must not balk, whatever is asked of you, the Halfhand had said.†   (source)
  • His horse balked at the sight and he had to rein him hard and circle back beside Tom.†   (source)
  • Not a single hostage balked or tried to slink away when his turn came to enter that gloomy tunnel.†   (source)
  • What with the oxen balking so much we were two hours behind schedule.†   (source)
  • She wouldn't balk at it, if he could keep her wanting him.†   (source)
  • 'You must not balk, whatever is asked of you,' he said.†   (source)
  • More likely, the Tyrells were balking at the proposed marriage.†   (source)
  • Clara set such a stiff price for her horses that Call was tempted to balk.†   (source)
  • You must not balk, whatever is asked of you.†   (source)
  • But when they reached the ringfort, Ghost balked again.†   (source)
  • You must not balk, whatever is asked of you.†   (source)
  • "I may just balk in Ogallala," he said out loud.†   (source)
  • The low stone steps balked Dancer only for a moment.†   (source)
  • Lorena's mare balked and wouldn't take the water.†   (source)
  • Suddenly she balked, rearing, her hooves lashing at the frosty air.†   (source)
  • Or more like, he did not want you balking over a boil and upsetting all his plans.†   (source)
  • Grey Wind balked in the middle of the drawbridge, shook the rain off, and howled at the portcullis.†   (source)
  • The Morgana girls might never have gone in if the orphans hadn't balked.†   (source)
  • Nikolai Nikolaievich balked a little and then gave in.†   (source)
  • We received from Madaline one postcard and what felt like a hastily written letter, in which she informed us of more troubles on the set, this time having to do with financiers who were threatening to balk because of all the delays.†   (source)
  • Confronted with this tally, my mind balked and retreated into a weird, almost robotic state of detachment.†   (source)
  • In July, Claude arranged placements for two of Edgar's litter—Opal and Umbra, the ones Edgar called "the twins"—but when the time came, Trudy balked.†   (source)
  • Enrique's former boss in North Carolina argues that he must pay native-born workers more than immigrants -- yet they work slower, balk at putting in overtime, and don't want to do the hardest jobs.†   (source)
  • Her brothers predictably balked at this and made derisive comments regarding the desirability of holding Hester's panties—under any circumstances.†   (source)
  • Eragon balked.†   (source)
  • A pretty place caught Lubin's eye, but when he suggested it, his hosts balked: a Star of David hung in the window.†   (source)
  • In keeping with the goal of reconciliation, the memorial council sought the participation of relatives of the guards who'd been convicted and hanged, but the families balked, fearing ostracism.†   (source)
  • Liv herself was dubious and hesitant to place it in her listings once she asked a few questions about my grand plans, but I insisted that she do, and when she kept balking I even threatened to call a rival agent at ERA.†   (source)
  • He does not like to be balked.†   (source)
  • While he was very good and didn't balk at a little knife work, he didn't have your special dash and spark.†   (source)
  • Thirty feet from Saphira, the cow balked and lowed with terror and tried to shake free of the rope and flee.†   (source)
  • I balked.†   (source)
  • He half expected the boy to balk again, but he preceded the gunslinger calmly out onto the rails, crossing on the welded steel slats calmly, with sure feet.†   (source)
  • And then halted when the queen of Attolia balked at the matter of consecrating an altar to Hephestia for the ceremony.†   (source)
  • Guarded by Spot, a surly Dalmatian who took hunks of flesh out of reporters who got too close, he stormed around the barn and fretted, pouted and balked in his workouts.†   (source)
  • I never meant for this but I could no longer balk, or control myself, and then something inside her collapsed, snapped clean, giving way like some stormsieged roof, and then I descended upon her, and I searched her, every lighted and darkened corner, and every room.†   (source)
  • They balked.†   (source)
  • Despite his hunger, Max balked.†   (source)
  • When the U.N. post was first conferred on him, my grandfather balked: he wanted no part of the corrupt regime.†   (source)
  • I balked.†   (source)
  • He was holding her hand again, but Eve decided it was less a sentimental gesture than one to make sure she didn't balk.†   (source)
  • Most of the reporters, and much of the crowd, believed that Riddle had simply balked at the 132-pound impost and didn't care enough about the consequences of scratching to do the sportsmanlike thing.†   (source)
  • "What?" the halfling balked in astonishment, wondering if the stress and the wounds the dog had inflicted upon Guenhwyvar had driven the cat into madness.†   (source)
  • Neth told him that she had worked in Poipet and was friends with an American journalist, but she balked at acknowledging that she had been a prostitute--or that she had tested positive for HIV.†   (source)
  • But I don't answer, or can't, as I've already turned back around and gone straight out to the mall, walking with all the speed I can muster, almost skipping into a trot, and I feel my chest start to ache and then balk, and before I know it I'm staring at the tops of my knees and the dirt-colored tile floor and coughing as though it's for the sake of my very life.†   (source)
  • Riddle set a limit of 130, ranted at the Hialeah racing secretary when the horse received just that, then balked when another track's secretary assigned the horse 132 pounds for a later race.†   (source)
  • No one had ever balked her lord father.†   (source)
  • Sometimes I thought about Suzanne and Trish, and how I had balked at their demand that Mahtob and I flee with them immediately.†   (source)
  • Errtu balked.†   (source)
  • She was tired of Jaime balking her.†   (source)
  • If the queen should bolt or balk, the three hags would drag her back inside, and this time they would see to it that she never left her cell.†   (source)
  • When a few of the king's knights strapped them onto their feet nonetheless, the big southern horses balked and refused to move, or tried to shake the things off their feet.†   (source)
  • No one balked.†   (source)
  • Why should we balk at wargs and giants?†   (source)
  • Now he balked.†   (source)
  • The Seven Kingdoms were full of highborn maidens, but even the oldest, poorest, and ugliest spinster in the realm would balk at wedding such lowborn scum as Bronn.†   (source)
  • The sell-sword had never balked at eating off his master's plate, and he was a knight now, a better match than she could else-wise hope for.†   (source)
  • Stranger balked at the water's edge, but the Hound put his heels into the courser's flank and urged him up the gangway.†   (source)
  • The Old Bear might at least have listened, though he would have balked at the notion of letting thirty or forty thousand wildlings loose on the Seven Kingdoms.†   (source)
  • I would have collected $140,000, never have seen Star a second time— Or would Her Wisdom have been balked?†   (source)
  • As for myself, I was a good sport up to a point but balked at the parachute jump, two hundred feet high, relic of the 1939 World's Fair, which may have been perfectly safe but filled me with heaving vertigo just to look at it.†   (source)
  • The Assistant Commissioner said thoughtfully: "So you're for baulking him.†   (source)
  • Yes, the journalist was right in refusing to be balked of happiness.†   (source)
  • He said acridly, "Enough balking for a day!†   (source)
  • Then that boy passed me, running and hollering at Darl and the gal trying to catch him, and then I see the mules come rolling slow up out of the water, their legs spraddled stiff like they had balked upside down, and roll on into the water again.†   (source)
  • It gives one the feeling that Time is like some balked monster, waiting outside the valley to pounce on the slackers who have managed to evade him longer than they should.†   (source)
  • To solve this tangle of balked emotion, I loaded the empty part of the ship of my personality with fantasies of ambition to keep it from toppling over into the sea of senselessness.†   (source)
  • The feeling of resentment and the balked longing for some kind of fulfilment and exultation"in degrees more or less intense and in actions more or less conscious"stalk day by day through this land.†   (source)
  • But Prissy balked.†   (source)
  • He had been a fool and done wrong, he showed up sallow and with the smaller disgrace that he was fat, as if overeating were his reply to being crushed--and with this all over him he wasn't going to tell me, he balked at telling, some small details.†   (source)
  • They whizzed with a perilous swerve by a car that, with a startled screech of its brakes, balked at the corner like a frightened horse.†   (source)
  • Chagrined, David resolved to do better, and thereafter followed faithfully all his leader's antics, not even balking at running up and down the wooden stairs that led into the ice-man's cellar.†   (source)
  • Balked for the second time, the passion of his grief had found another outlet, was transformed into a passion of agonized rage.†   (source)
  • It would be the fact of the ceremony, regardless of what kind, that Henry would balk at: Bon knew this.†   (source)
  • She drove him along, upbraiding him in her harsh voice, cutting him sharply with the switch from moment to moment when, desperate with pride and humiliation, he slackened his retreat to a slow walk, or balked mulishly, howling again, and speeding a few paces on his short legs, when cut by the switch.†   (source)
  • And, oh, that dreadful moment when the sick horse balked and cavalry and light cannon rumbled past in the darkness, past where they sat breathless, so close she could almost reach out and touch them, so close she could smell the stale sweat on the soldiers' bodies!†   (source)
  • This made her a mirror, like, where I could see my own obstinacy of yore and how it must have looked when I balked.†   (source)
  • Thought and feeling were balked in him" there was something he was trying to tell himself, desperately, but could not.†   (source)
  • And, as it so happens, what has yet to lie recorded before coming to the culmination, during the period when the plague was gathering all its forces to fling them at the town and lay it waste, is the long, heartrendingly monotonous struggle put up by some obstinate people like Rambert to recover their lost happiness and to balk the plague of that part of themselves which they were ready to defend in the last ditch.†   (source)
  • She balked on the last step.†   (source)
  • It ought to be easier than for the ones you yourself hurt, for you can see their enemies or persecutors better than you can see yourself balking someone of life or doing him wrong.†   (source)
  • Clyde was beginning to show a disposition to balk.†   (source)
  • But we had that protest from Springfield to buck against, and the governor nearly balked.†   (source)
  • Edna admired the skill of his maneuver, and avoided any occasion to balk his intentions.†   (source)
  • "Why—why—" stammered the youth struggling with his balking tongue.†   (source)
  • Here am I balked: who, now can help afford?†   (source)
  • "Damn it, she is plucky!" said Newman, and he walked home with a slight sense of being balked.†   (source)
  • The clergyman's shy and sensitive reserve had balked this scheme.†   (source)
  • Yet very watchful, Ben-Hur answered, lightly, "A man may not balk a woman bent on having her way."†   (source)
  • The people of the parliament will be well balked to-morrow when they come to seek her!†   (source)
  • Mr. Osborne dropped it with the bitterest, deadliest pang of balked affection and revenge.†   (source)
  • I am equally balked by antagonism and by compliance.†   (source)
  • Only fall to, and show no timid balking.†   (source)
  • Having plodded miles into this zone, she could not turn back, unless absolutely balked, so she applied herself to careful driving, and kept on, true as possible to the distant purple landmark.†   (source)
▲ show less (of above)
show 1 examples with meaning too rare to warrant focus
  • ...he had been sent down thousands of miles south to haul and pile big balks of teak in the timberyards at Moulmein.   (source)
    balks = thick pieces of unfinished wood
▲ show less (of above)