distrust
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
verb
noun
Usage
What’s the difference between distrust and mistrust? As nouns, distrust and mistrust mean just about the same thing: doubt or suspicion—a lack of trust.As verbs, they are also often used interchangeably to mean to regard someone with suspicion—to not trust them.Some people think that there is a subtle difference in what each word implies. Distrust, they say, implies that there is a strong reason for the lack of trust—that it’s based on something that a person has already done. Mistrust, on the other hand, is said to be based on suspicion, as opposed to having a basis in someone’s past actions.This may be what some people intend to imply when they use each word, but, still, most people use the two of them in just about the same way. Distrust is the more commonly used of the two. The adjective distrustful is also more common than mistrustful.Here are some examples of distrust and mistrust used correctly in a sentence. In both cases, the other word could be swapped in without changing the meaning.Example: I have a deep mistrust of landlords. Example: She has distrusted me ever since I lost her book—and I think her distrust of me has grown since then. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between distrust and mistrust.
Related Words
See suspicion.
Other Word Forms
- distruster noun
- distrustful adjective
- distrustfully adverb
- distrustfulness noun
- predistrust noun
Etymology
Origin of distrust
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.
Alam said the police were determined to ensure the polls were peaceful, but said he accepted that distrust of his force remained.
From Barron's
Its chief executive Sam Altman had long expressed his dislike for advertising, citing concerns that it could create distrust about ChatGPT's content.
From Barron's
The trial comes at a moment of deepening public anxiety over social media’s impact on children, and growing distrust of the corporations that operate the platforms.
From Los Angeles Times
An opinion column published by the Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras argued that her relationship with the country had been marked by distrust.
From Los Angeles Times
Maybe I can explain to my tech-savvy roommate that it isn’t her I distrust—it’s every data broker, pricing algorithm and defense agency mining the bits between us.
Definitions 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.
