distrust

[ dis-truhst ]

verb (used with object)

1. to regard with doubt or suspicion; have no trust in.

noun

1. lack of trust; doubt; suspicion.

distrust

/ dɪsˈtrʌst /

verb

1. to regard as untrustworthy or dishonest

noun

1. suspicion; doubt

Derived Forms

• disˈtruster, noun
• disˈtrustfully, adverb
• disˈtrustfulness, noun
• disˈtrustful, adjective

Other Words From

• dis·truster noun
• predis·trust noun verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of distrust¹

First recorded in 1505–15; dis- ¹ + trust

Synonym Study

See suspicion.

Example Sentences

Bridging the divide between the police and those who distrust them will take more than protests and symbolic gestures.

From The Daily Beast

Liberals distrust business and anyone with power—better to tell them exactly what to do.

From The Daily Beast

Conservatives distrust public officials and want to shackle them with detailed rules.

From The Daily Beast

Bound together by mutual distrust, both sides end up lashing themselves to the mast of rigid law.

From The Daily Beast

Can you chip away at the distrust of the police among black people?

From The Daily Beast

Such mutual distrust necessarily creates or accompanies a lack of moral courage.

From Project Gutenberg

Here was the strangeness of it: that he did not distrust Lettice, nor felt resentment against Tony.

From Project Gutenberg

Robinson looked at him suspiciously as he took it, and the animals eyed him with evident distrust.

From Project Gutenberg

On the following afternoon he found her, for instance, radiant with that exuberant happiness he had learned now to distrust.

From Project Gutenberg

However cleverly the pill was gilded, the Marshal knew that it was the Emperor's distrust which had lost him the command.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• disbelief
• doubt
• misgiving
• mistrust
• skepticism
• suspicion
• wariness