3
set back(verb, expression, phrasal verb, check, delay)
3
setback(noun, upset, blow, shock, disaster)
3
spoil(verb, ruin, prevent, cross, frustrate)
3
stumble(verb, quiet, restrain, curb, suppress)
3
withdraw(start, abandon, yield, surrender, admit)
2
abandon(verb, withdraw, yield, surrender, admit)
2
anticlimax(disappointment, letdown, disillusionment, disenchantment)
2
argue(oppose, disagree, contradict, differ, rebel)
2
avoid(verb, stop, decline, reject, start)
2
back away(verb, expression, phrasal verb, withdraw, retreat)
2
back off(verb, expression, check, withdraw, abandon)
2
backtrack(verb, withdraw, abandon, yield, surrender)
2
bafflement(disappointment, letdown, disenchantment)
2
barricade
2
be unwilling(stick, pause, shy, hesitate, falter)
2
blast(verb, frustrate, confound, foil)
2
blighted
2
blighted hope(expression, idiom, disappointment)
2
blow the whistle on(expression, idiom, stop, close, end)
2
boggle(verb, stick, pause, shy, throw)
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APASmart Define. (2015). balk thesaurus. Retrieved September 23, 2026, from https://smartdefine.org/balk/thesaurus/synonyms
ChicagoSmart Define. 2015. "balk thesaurus" https://smartdefine.org/balk/thesaurus/synonyms (accessed September 23, 2026).
HarvardSmart Define 2015, balk thesaurus, Smart Define, viewed 23 September, 2026, <https://smartdefine.org/balk/thesaurus/synonyms>.
MLASmart Define. "balk thesaurus" 10 April 2015. Web. 23 September 2026. <https://smartdefine.org/balk/thesaurus/synonyms>