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.
Synonym Usage
See suspicion.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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distrustsimple
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distrustssimple
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have distrustedperfect
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has distrustedperfect
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am distrustingprogressive
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are distrustingprogressive
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is distrustingprogressive
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have been distrustingperfect progressive
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has been distrustingperfect progressive
Past
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distrustedsimple
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had distrustedperfect
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was distrustingprogressive
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were distrustingprogressive
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had been distrustingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
Finally, amid growing distrust of the police and the government, firearm sales began to increase during 2015 and 2016, setting an all-time record in 2020.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
"Such imagery and misinformation only serve to widen the distrust between the Philippines and China," it added.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Given his parents’ distrust of the stock market, his choice of job wasn’t obvious.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
And the lack of transparency and widespread use of NDAs by many data-center builders has only drawn more suspicion and distrust.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
The mutual distrust between the men who were just awakened and those who were ending a long night gave everyone a feeling of estrangement.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
One community member distrusts dialogue to begin with, calling it a means to “give up something.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2026
“While we are necessarily moving forward together because of our mutual dependence, each side distrusts the other side’s long-term intentions,” he told me.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
In Ukraine, where polls consistently show that about 95% of the population distrusts Putin, there is a uneasy mix of deep scepticism about the talks and deep fatigue with the war.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2025
When the public starts to distrust Musk, or at least remembers that it distrusts him, investors wobble too.
From Slate ● May 1, 2025
He distrusts everyone, she reflected, and perhaps for good reason.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Greenspan was considered a “maestro” who read the economy by feel and distrusted mechanical rules.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
David embraced aristocratic country life and distrusted outsiders; Sydney enjoyed London, music and company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
After more than a decade of Nazi ascendance, the party and the barons who would bail them out still distrusted one another.
From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2025
"The trouble is I was spoilt. I was exceptionally lucky that I was the individual he distrusted least," said Mr Smythe, now 83.
From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2025
Colin the Englishman is distrusted because he talks not too much but too well.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
They’re initially suspicious and distrusting of each other.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026
As a colleague he could be distrusting and wary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
But distrusting the Fed and abandoning the dollar are completely different moves.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2025
Initially distrusting of him, Bailey eventually finds him to be a kind of mentor and protector, which gives her a new perspective on life.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2024
Maybe something had happened with him, something that made her sad and distrusting of haints.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
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.
