Balk

Noun

 * 1) ridge, an unplowed strip of land. (One use is to walk on it.)
 * 2) beam.
 * 3) hindrance.
 * 4) blunder.
 * 5)  deceptive motion; feint
 * 6)  an illegal motion intended to deceive a runner.
 * 7)  motion used to deceive an opponent during a serve

Verb

 * 1)  to pass over or by.
 * 2) to stop, check, block.
 * 3) to stop short and refuse to go on.
 * 4) to refuse suddenly.

Adverbs for Balk
continually; cruelly; particularly; recalcitrantly; exasperatingly; pettishly; provokingly; irritatingly.

Thesaurus
baffle, bafflement, balk at, balking, be unwilling, beam, beat, begrudge, betrayed hope, bevue, bilk, blast, blasted expectation, blighted hope, blow, boggle, brave, buffet, cast down, challenge, check, checkmate, circumvent, comedown, confound, confounding, confront, confusion, contravene, counter, counteract, countermand, counterwork, cross, cruel disappointment, dash, dashed hope, decline, defeat, defeat expectation, defy, destroy, die hard, disappoint, disappointment, discomfit, discomfiture, disconcert, disconcertion, discountenance, dish, disillusion, disillusionment, disrupt, dissatisfaction, dissatisfy, elude, failure, fallen countenance, false move, false step, fiasco, fizzle, flinch, flummox, foil, foiling, forlorn hope, frustrate, frustration, gag, grudge, hang back, hold out, hope deferred, inadvertence, inadvertency, jib, knock the chocks, lapse, lapsus calami, lapsus linguae, let down, letdown, loose thread, mind, mirage, miscue, misstep, nonplus, not budge, not care to, not feel like, object to, omission, oversight, perplex, persevere, quail, rebuff, recoil, refuse, repulse, reversal, reverse, rout, ruin, sabotage, scotch, scruple, setback, shrink, shy, slip, slipup, sore disappointment, spike, spoil, stand out, stand pat, stick, stickle, stonewall, strain, stumble, stump, take no denial, tantalization, tantalize, tease, thwart, thwarting, trip, turn down, upset, would rather not, wrong step

Alternative forms

 * baulk

Etymology
From balke:,  balca:, either from or influenced by  bálkr:, from. Cognate with Balken:,  balcone:.