Balking

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Showing reluctance or refusal to continue an action or process
2. Exhibiting hesitation or stoppage when expected to move forward
3. Demonstrating unwillingness or resistance to proceed with something

Etymology: "Balking" is the present participle of "balk," so its history is really the history of the verb. "Balk" comes from Old English "balca," meaning a ridge or beam, and its earliest sense was of a ridge of land left unplowed between furrows. Horses and oxen that stopped short of an obstacle, or refused to pull a load further, were said to balk, which is how the idea of stubborn refusal entered the word. The sense of baulking as a ridge or obstacle, meaning something that blocks the way, helped carry the image from land to animal. The word's meaning has shifted to suit people as well as beasts. Someone who balks now hesitates or draws back from a task, a proposal, or a demand, often without openly refusing. The original picture of a straining animal planting its hooves survives in that sense of an unwilling halt.

Synonyms: hesitating, resisting, refusing, opposing, avoiding

Antonyms: accepting, agreeing, completing, consenting, proceeding