as in rebellion
refusal to obey
the teen's unrelenting balkiness was truly frustrating
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for balkiness
Noun
-
Shop the Marc Jacobs Beauty Collection Now Naturally, Jacobs also infused an undercurrent of rebellion.—
Conçetta Ciarlo,
Vogue,
28 May 2026 -
Investor rebellion The announcement of Manifold’s departure from BP came as a surprise to many analysts and investors earlier in the week, with the company currently in the midst of a fundamental strategic reset.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
From Stonewall’s 1969 uprising to today’s golf tournaments, human rights summits and bar crawls, Pride events in Los Angeles, New York and global cities mix festival energy with defiance.—
Geoff Mulvihill,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2026
-
Tensions escalated when Tigray held regional elections in defiance of thata federal delay, leading to a political standoff that erupted into a civil war in November 2020.—
Nimi Princewill,
CNN Money,
31 May 2026
Noun
-
Those leaders who ignore or flout the law aren’t merely unethical but fatally arrogant, putting their childish willfulness over the wisdom of generations.—
David Brooks,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Though the Durutti Column had been a disaster, Wilson was fascinated by the guitarist, who admired punk’s willfulness even though his own musical taste tended toward jazz, blues, and the classical tradition.—
Brad Shoup,
Pitchfork,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Is Uribe actually good enough to back up this level of disrespect?—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
27 May 2026
-
Her case, within a nexus of other acts of disrespect, provoked the ire of numerous Indigenous Americans, including one of the better-known of the eighteenth century, Pontiac, an Odawa leader who organized resistance against the British.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Balkiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balkiness. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
