distrustful
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- distrustfully adverb
- distrustfulness noun
- predistrustful adjective
- undistrustful adjective
- undistrustfully adverb
- undistrustfulness noun
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 people angered by and distrustful of Discord’s invasive verification methods are right to be.
From Slate • Feb. 11, 2026
My distrustful and selfish brother was named as the executor of my late parents’ estate.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 30, 2026
Ms. McGarr, who teaches at University of Wisconsin-Madison, is often acerbic about her subjects but notes that they were “awash in patriotic fervor at the same time that they were distrustful and cynical.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025
The demand for ethically produced eggs continues to grow as consumers become more distrustful of conventional egg supplies, especially following the spread of avian flu in recent years.
From Barron's • Oct. 16, 2025
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
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.
