as in rebellious
given to resisting authority or another's control
a balky toddler who only seemed to know the word "no" when told to do something
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Recent Examples of balky
After balky hamstrings saddled him with an injury-prone label, Fulton has set career highs for tackles (51) and games (15).
—
Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025
The combined company had a balky management structure that included two executives sharing power at the top, and with vast cultural differences between its German and American operations.
—Neal E. Boudette, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024
On fourth down Allar, who fought gamely while playing with a balky left knee, threw incomplete to tight end Khalil Dinkins.
—Will Graves, Baltimore Sun, 2 Nov. 2024
White is being backed up by Cobie Durant, who also has a balky hamstring.
—Jay Paris, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for balky
Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025
The combined company had a balky management structure that included two executives sharing power at the top, and with vast cultural differences between its German and American operations.
—Neal E. Boudette, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024
On fourth down Allar, who fought gamely while playing with a balky left knee, threw incomplete to tight end Khalil Dinkins.
—Will Graves, Baltimore Sun, 2 Nov. 2024
White is being backed up by Cobie Durant, who also has a balky hamstring.
—Jay Paris, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for balky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for balky
Adjective
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Mickey, tasked with keeping her rebellious sister in line, never had the opportunity to be a kid.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
12 Mar. 2025
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But in 1862, Congress declared that any slave with a rebellious master who reached federal lines would be free.—
Barbara Spindel,
The Christian Science Monitor,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Her character evolves throughout the series from a superficial adherent to the Capitol’s cruel system to a rebel sympathizer who comes to care deeply for Katniss and Peeta, representing the potential for change even among those benefiting from oppression. 10.—
Ryan Brennan,
Charlotte Observer,
19 Mar. 2025
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In January, the conflict sharply escalated, as Rwandan troops and their M23 rebel allies took control of Bukavu and Goma, the biggest city in eastern Congo.—
Jason K. Stearns,
TIME,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Their bleeding champion — at the time a former and future president — raises a defiant fist.—
John Scott Lewinski,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
14 Mar. 2025
-
After being yelled at, children often feel defiant, defensive, and disconnected from their parent.—
Daryl Austin,
Parents,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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One daughter, loving but stubborn, leaves for Vilna to study nursing.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2025
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The true top is still stubborn, though: In 2023 women made up just over 10% of Fortune 500 CEOs, 9% of the FTSE CEOs, and 5.4% of CEOs of the S&P Global Broad Market Index.—
Kweilin Ellingrud,
TIME,
11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Bismarck had a reputation as a wily man who could potentially bring the recalcitrant Lower House to heel.—
Christine Adams / Made by History,
TIME,
13 Mar. 2025
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Still, this initial success against such a recalcitrant tumor has broader implications for using personalized mRNA vaccines to target other common tumors that have so far been resistant to other kinds of immunotherapy, Balachandran says.—
Lisa Jarvis,
Twin Cities,
9 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Part of this containment strategy is to stop Chinese company transshipments through Canada and Mexico from engaging in willful U.S. tariff evasion.—
Jason Schenker,
Forbes,
9 Mar. 2025
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Beyond market returns: Time and consistency are essential Given the willful chaos and uncertainty being generated by the Trump administration, there is no telling what the markets and the US economy will do in the foreseeable future.—
Jeanne Sahadi,
CNN,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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In those days, even small neighborhood theaters employed uniformed ushers to guide latecomers to their seats with a flashlight, patrol the aisles, and handle obstreperous customers.—
Thomas Doherty,
The Hollywood Reporter,
27 Dec. 2024
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Making clear that any future conflict would end with the reunification of the entire peninsula under the South’s authority should increase the North’s restraint, as well as reinforce China’s efforts to rein in its obstreperous ally.—
Richard Haass,
Foreign Affairs,
3 Apr. 2013
Adjective
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The battle between parents and wayward children is the archetypal plot of modernization.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2025
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By this point, there’s no need to rehash its difficult production: What matters is what’s on the screen, a tale of how a wayward son (Al Pacino) discovers that his mild refutations of his family’s dark business are ultimately just talk.—
Will Leitch,
Vulture,
3 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Balky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balky. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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