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balk

If you balk at your mother's suggestion that you take on more responsibility, you're saying no to added chores. To balk means to refuse to go along with.

A donkey balks when it refuses to move forward. This is a good picture for balk which is often used in conjunction with demands. Demands are something people often balk at like a donkey refusing to move. In baseball, a pitcher balks when he or she begins a pitch by winding up, but does not complete it. It is as if he is refusing to complete a started pitch, and it is against the rules.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: balk

1	v n	refuse to comply something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress
2	n	an illegal pitching motion while runners are on base
3	n	the area on a billiard table behind the balkline
4	n	one of several parallel sloping beams that support a roof

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: balk

v refuse to comply

Synonyms:: baulk, jib, resist

Type of:: disobey
refuse to go along with; refuse to follow; be disobedient

n something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress

Synonyms:: baulk, check, deterrent, handicap, hinderance, hindrance, impediment

Types:: show 10 types...; hide 10 types...; albatross, millstone
(figurative) something that hinders or handicaps; bind
something that hinders as if with bonds; diriment impediment
(canon law) an impediment that invalidates a marriage (such as the existence of a prior marriage); drag
something that slows or delays progress; obstacle, obstruction
something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted; straitjacket
anything immaterial that severely hinders or confines; barrier, roadblock
any condition that makes it difficult to make progress or to achieve an objective; hang-up, hitch, rub, snag
an unforeseen obstacle; hurdle
an obstacle that you are expected to overcome; stymie, stymy
a thwarting and distressing situation

Type of:: difficulty
a factor causing trouble in achieving a positive result or tending to produce a negative result

n an illegal pitching motion while runners are on base

Type of:: delivery, pitch
(baseball) the act of throwing a baseball by a pitcher to a batter

n the area on a billiard table behind the balkline

“a player with ball in hand must play from the balk”

Synonyms:: baulk

Type of:: area, expanse, surface area
the extent of a 2-dimensional surface enclosed within a boundary

n one of several parallel sloping beams that support a roof

Synonyms:: baulk, rafter

Type of:: beam
long thick piece of wood or metal or concrete, etc., used in construction

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