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
Etymology
Origin of distrust
Explanation
Distrust is a feeling of doubt about some person or thing. We distrust people who aren't honest. When you trust someone, you believe in her, so the opposite is true of distrust. Trust is from the Old Norse word traust meaning "confidence." Put a dis in front of it, and to distrust is to have no confidence in someone or something. As a noun, distrust is the feeling of doubt. In a corrupt workplace, there will be a lot of distrust. Where there's distrust, there's not much harmony.
Vocabulary lists containing 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.
Appeared in the January 23, 2026, print edition as 'Europe Distrust of Washington Lingers After Greenland Crisis'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026
Distrust, whether in the media, local libraries or school system, can often arise in more abstract, often online, contexts rather than being attached to something concrete local institutions have or haven’t done.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 28, 2023
Ely would later claim that he was solving the countermajoritarian difficulty in Democracy and Distrust, by providing a nonpolitical way to decide which rights deserved “fundamental” protections sufficient to override legislation in this way.
From Slate • Jun. 25, 2023
Distrust of police is widespread in Sacramento and other cities, adding to the challenge of finding witnesses.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2022
Distrust turns quickly to dislike, my father told new members of our troupe, so stay together when you’re in town, and be polite.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
