mistrust
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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to regard with mistrust, suspicion, or doubt; distrust.
-
to surmise.
verb (used without object)
verb
noun
Usage
What’s the difference between mistrust and distrust? As nouns, mistrust and distrust 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 mistrust and distrust 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 mistrust and distrust.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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mistrusternoun
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mistrustfulnessnoun
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self-mistrustnoun
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mistrustfuladjective
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unmistrustedadjective
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unmistrustingadjective
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mistrustfullyadverb
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mistrustinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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mistrustsimple
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mistrustssimple
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have mistrustedperfect
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has mistrustedperfect
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am mistrustingprogressive
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are mistrustingprogressive
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is mistrustingprogressive
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have been mistrustingperfect progressive
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has been mistrustingperfect progressive
Past
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mistrustedsimple
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had mistrustedperfect
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was mistrustingprogressive
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were mistrustingprogressive
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had been mistrustingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mistrust
1350–1400; Middle English mistrusten (v.), mistrust (noun). See mis- 1, trust
Explanation
To mistrust is to feel uneasy about someone or something. If you mistrust bus drivers, you may decide to walk instead. Are you suspicious of clowns in general? Then you mistrust them. This verb has a very similar meaning to distrust — as nouns, both words mean "a lack of trust." A subtle difference between the two is that distrust tends to be based on a bad experience (if a clown once pinched you, you will probably always distrust that clown). Mistrust, on the other hand, is a more general sense of suspicion.
Vocabulary lists containing mistrust
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mis-
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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.
See Examples For:
“There is a great deal of mistrust in L.A. city government right now.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
Yet in recent years, mistrust has strained ties.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
Maryam Yaqub is the AI lead at the Fawcett Society and said women and men had differing opinions on AI, with women expressing some "mistrust".
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
"Developing countries are voicing their mistrust, fearing they will share their viruses without any guarantees of equitable access to vaccines in the event of a crisis," WHO chief scientist Sylvie Briand told AFP.
From Barron's ● Apr. 27, 2026
"You think I should mistrust Lannister because he sat on my throne for a few moments?"
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
She’s getting more famous — drawing more and more people away from the influencer pop-ups and into her tent at Coachella — her life, in many ways, fulfilling the very impulse she mistrusts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2026
On the contrary, he mistrusts them, scorning even the praise heaped upon him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
Johann Scholtz, European bank analyst at Morningstar, mistrusts the earnings expectations.
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2025
Intelligence officials say that Moscow was initially hesitant to reach out to Tehran, whose leaders it mistrusts and whose nuclear ambitions it has consistently opposed.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 24, 2022
The State official mistrusts ideas, pours cold water on new inventions and grudges new expenditure.
From Socialism and American ideals by Myers, William Starr
History is a useful reminder that a royal scandal is a convenient tool for an unpopular and beleaguered political class, a mistrusted army of newspaper hacks, and a disgruntled public, desperate for a plausible villain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
This new wave of Chinese migrants – many of them still awaiting asylum – now feel themselves caught in a pincer: mistrusted by Americans, unwanted by Beijing, and sometimes suspended in legal limbo.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2025
USC insisted that complaints be first processed under the university’s internal Title IX office — which many students said they mistrusted due to delays and other deficiencies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 27, 2023
Involving the Shin Bet, which is deeply mistrusted by Palestinian citizens, is another sign of the tone deafness, critics say.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 18, 2023
Perhaps he mistrusted his already considerable accomplishment in putting more than 70,000 soldiers in Lee’s immediate rear, with practically no losses because he had met practically no resistance.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
To the Ukrainian leader -- seen as mistrusting of those with political ambitions or popular appeal -- the ever-loyal Syrsky, a career military man, was in many respects an ideal commander.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
But what makes that introduction to the world of “Holland” particularly irksome is not just that it’s mistrusting of its audience, but that it’s also mistrusting of the film itself.
From Salon ● Mar. 27, 2025
"My child started losing faith in me, they started mistrusting me."
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2023
As a result, Ada was mistrusting and suspicious.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 14, 2023
I felt ashamed that I could even think about mistrusting Quintus.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
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.
