Words / C2

BORK/bɔːk/

To balk (UK also baulk) is to refuse to proceed, or to hesitate (balk at): balk at the cost, the horse balked. Refuse (already in the dictionary) is everyday; hesitate (already in the dictionary) is a pause from doubt. To renege (already in the dictionary) is to go back on a promise already made — later, and worse. A pretty organogram does not license an unnamed chair.

Meaning

To refuse to proceed or to hesitate (balk at); also, of a horse, to stop short (UK also baulk).

Examples

• “Do not balk at naming the invigilator because the organogram is pretty.”
• “Refuse is everyday (already in A2). Hesitate is a pause from doubt (already in B1). To renege is to break a promise (already in C2). A late but dated name is still a name. An empty chair as the candidates enter is neglect. Write the warden tonight; the chart can wait.”

Good to know

Refuse to proceed (balk at; UK also baulk). Everyday: refuse / hesitate (already in this dictionary). Contrast: renege (break a promise — already in C2). A chart is not a seated invigilator.

Near in meaning

refuse, recoil, hesitate, shrink

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