distrustful
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of distrustful
Explanation
If you're suspicious, or uncertain whether you should believe something (or someone), you're distrustful. If your dog is distrustful of clowns, she may growl every time she sees anyone wearing a big, red, rubber nose. Whenever you experience a lack of trust, you're distrustful. The word adds the prefix dis-, "not," to trustful, or "full of trust." If your cousin frequently tells tale tales, you will probably be distrustful when he claims that he recently met a famous movie star. And if that old wooden roller coaster at the amusement park looks rickety, you might be distrustful of its safety go ride the merry-go-round instead.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The last five years have come at a cost to Angharad, who experienced nightmares and still feels angry and distrustful of others.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Americans have grown distrustful of artificial intelligence and worry it will eventually take their jobs.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 27, 2026
Everybody has felt heartbreak or confusion or duped or confused or distrustful of their own intuition and all of that stuff.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
Hastily arranged burials of Ebola victims have been met with suspicion in a region already distrustful of the state.
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
I am a great ape, and you are a great ape, and so are chimpanzees and orangutans and bonobos, all of us distant and distrustful cousins.
From "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
