baulk

“'And am I to plunge a harpoon into that beast!' 'That's your privilege, my son,' said Malone, 'and, sad to relate, unless I give it a miss in baulk, I shall have to be at your side when you do it.'”

“What made those holes and rents / In the dock's harsh swarth leaves, bruised as to baulk / All hope of greenness?”

“As he talked, slowly, quietly, I had the impression that it must surely be an accident that had happened, but that his mind, unhinged by tragedy, baulked at Anna’s death.”