A balking.    From Wordnet, Princeton University. 

Verb (used without object) : He balked at making the speech.    From Dictionary.com. 

Verb (used with object) : a sudden reversal that balked her hopes. ,to balk an opportunity.    From Dictionary.com. 

Noun : to make a balk.    From Dictionary.com. 

Jibbing, or "balking" as the Americans term it, is a detestable vice.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Horsewoman A Practical Guide to Side-Saddle Riding, 2nd. Ed.] Reference

Other countries such as China and Iran are also "balking" on the idea, using the excuses of U.S.    From Wordnik.com.  [Global Issues News Headlines] Reference

Recent headlines and letters have unfairly accused Assemblywoman Lupardo of "balking" at a reduction in pay.    From Wordnik.com. Reference

As a result, some pro-NAFTA House Dems are balking.    From Wordnik.com.  ['Let's Get A Vote, Up Or Down'] Reference

Middle-aged women even give their ages without balking.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Curious Case of the Calamitous Cannabis] Reference

But, although they had had the satisfaction of balking the.    From Wordnik.com.  [Army Boys in the French Trenches Or, Hand to Hand Fighting with the Enemy] Reference

After a while I got to banking on that balking trick of his.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Shield of Silence] Reference

Republicans are even balking at his proposal to eliminate dividend taxes.    From Wordnik.com.  [Capitol Letter: Planet Bush] Reference

Certainly he had directly or indirectly been the means of balking every one of.    From Wordnik.com.  [Grace Harlowe's Plebe Year at High School The Merry Doings of the Oakdale Freshmen Girls] Reference

We decided to take a look at why two other border state governors are balking.    From Wordnik.com.  [CNN Transcript May 17, 2006] Reference

A small but growing number of moderate Democrats are balking at boosting taxes on the rich.    From Wordnik.com.  [Democrats Unlikely To Repeal Bush Tax Cuts] Reference

And the leader, balking suspiciously at the explosive machine, felt a smart touch of the whip.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Rim of the Desert] Reference

He liked his own way, and he liked to help people, and this girl was balking him in both desires.    From Wordnik.com.  [Flint His Faults, His Friendships and His Fortunes] Reference

Colorado is one of many swing states where candidates seem to be balking at associating with Obama.    From Wordnik.com.  [Daily Fix Poll: Would you campaign with President Obama?] Reference

When he returns he has forgotten that he was balking and recounts his experiences most delightfully.    From Wordnik.com.  [Reveries of a Schoolmaster] Reference

I did a bit of balking myself as a boy, and I am not quite certain that I have even yet become immune.    From Wordnik.com.  [Reveries of a Schoolmaster] Reference

But he's still balking at allowing businessmen to take the lead in forging such connections informally.    From Wordnik.com.  [See Chen Run] Reference

"Hang the hoss!" he murmured half aloud, yet, all told, he did not blame the animal so much for balking.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Boy Land Boomer Dick Arbuckle's Adventures in Oklahoma] Reference

One man was furious that his wife was balking at turning their three-car garage into a "perfect man cave.".    From Wordnik.com.  [Online love: Founder of CouplesSpark.com develops a 'Marriage Ref' for the Web] Reference

"Talk!" demanded Old Maskron finally, shaking the other again and infuriated at the runner's balking manner.    From Wordnik.com.  [Si'Wren of the Patriarchs] Reference

Some moderates are balking at this fight, and Dem leaders are engaged in intense debate about how to proceed.    From Wordnik.com.  [Van Hollen: Vote on middle class tax cuts would be good for Dems] Reference

I thought I could tire him out by always balking him -- till that night I didn't meet him, and he killed those four men.    From Wordnik.com.  [The La Chance Mine Mystery] Reference

For decades Greece has been an awkward member of the EU, balking at many initiatives in both economic and foreign policy.    From Wordnik.com.  [In A State Of Eu-Phoria] Reference

But complications arose: the British government was balking, and Barclays shareholders had not been given a chance to meet.    From Wordnik.com.  [Paulson’s Complaint] Reference

Now, committee staffers complain, the companies are balking, arguing the material is protected by attorney-client privilege.    From Wordnik.com.  [Periscope] Reference

On further discussion, when they are made to understand that worthwhile hickories can be grown, you come to the balking point.    From Wordnik.com.  [Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Twenty-Fifth Annual Meeting Battle Creek, Michigan, September 10 and 11, 1934] Reference

The advertising agency Hill, Holliday, balking at higher rents, had vacated its four floors at the Hancock Tower in March 2008.    From Wordnik.com.  [Boston’s Incredible Shrinking Skyscraper] Reference

Buyers are balking at prices, which by June were up 157% in Mumbai since late 2005, for example, research firm Liases Foras says.    From Wordnik.com.  [A Real(ty) Risk For India's Banks] Reference

And yet, both the X5 and MDX have become such an overly popular suburban soccer-mom mobile that I find myself balking at the idea.    From Wordnik.com.  [Personal Picks: Midsized SUVs] Reference

And, fearful of balking the expedition by a stir, he dared not turn his head to investigate the doings of his comrade, Cyrus Garst.    From Wordnik.com.  [Camp and Trail A Story of the Maine Woods] Reference

Cora Belle doesn't call it balking, she says Balaam has stopped to rest, and they sit and wait till he is ready to trot along again.    From Wordnik.com.  [Letters of a Woman Homesteader] Reference

No matter how fruitless it may seem, talking is always much better than balking, which eventually could result in worsening hostilities.    From Wordnik.com.  [Mail Call: An Existential Choice] Reference

According to the New York Post, he's balking at admitting fault in soliciting funds for his eponymous center at City College of New York.    From Wordnik.com.  [The clock ticks for Rep. Charlie Rangel] Reference