Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of balk

13 similar words

Another word for balk is jib. Other synonyms of balk are failure, feint, miss, overlook and avoid.

Synonyms and similar words for balk

nounA sudden and obstinate stop.

nounAn illegal motion by the pitcher, intended to deceive a runner.

verbTo stop short and refuse to go on or do something (such as jump).

  • jibTo stop and refuse to go forward (usually of a horse).

verbTo omit, miss, or overlook by chance, error, or inadvertance.

verbTo miss intentionally; to avoid, ignore, or shun.

verbTo disappoint, frustrate, or check.

Meaning of balk

  1. noun An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing.
  2. noun The wall of earth at the edge of an excavation.
  3. noun Beam, crossbeam; squared timber; a tie beam of a house, stretching from wall to wall, especially when laid so as to form a loft, "the balks".

Full definition of balk

balk in other languages

Questions about synonyms of balk

What is another word for balk?
Balk has 13 synonyms on Word.ws, such as jib, failure, feint, miss, overlook, avoid, shun and refuse.
What does balk mean?
Balk means an uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: balk (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of balk.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/balk. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.