baulk
verb (British English)(also balk especially in North American English)
- [intransitive] baulk (at something)
to be unwilling to do something or become involved in something because it is difficult, dangerous, etc. 畏缩；回避 Many parents may baulk at the idea of paying $100 for a pair of shoes. 许多父母可能不愿出 100 美元买一双鞋。 He baulked for a moment. ‘I can’t afford it,’ he finally admitted. 他犹豫了一会儿。“我买不起，”他最终承认道。
- [intransitive] baulk (at something)
(of a horse 马 to stop suddenly and refuse to jump a fence, etc. 逡巡不前；突然拒绝前行（如跳越障碍物等） - [transitive, usually passive] (formal)
to prevent somebody from getting something or doing something 阻止；阻碍
Word Originlate Old English balc, from Old Norse bálkr ‘partition’. The original use was ‘unploughed ridge’, later ‘land left unploughed by mistake’, hence ‘blunder, omission’, giving rise to the verb use ‘miss (a chance)’. A late Middle English sense ‘obstacle’ gave rise to the verb senses ‘hesitate’ and ‘hinder’.