mistrust
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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to regard with mistrust, suspicion, or doubt; distrust.
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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
"Thank You, M'am"
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mis-
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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:
Even headlines like “Can We Kill You For Your Organs, Please?” can inadvertently sow significant concern and mistrust among the public and lead to fewer registered donors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
But there have been instances of official sources, including government-controlled media, deliberately downplaying disasters, which has led to some public mistrust in this area.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
“There is a great deal of mistrust in L.A. city government right now.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
William Clemmer, a doctor with nonprofit IMA World Health in Goma, another affected city in eastern Congo, said mistrust is compounding the medical challenges of the epidemic itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
She needed Skahaz and the Brazen Beasts, and she had come to mistrust all of Reznak’s counsel.
From "A Dance with Dragons" 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
Maybe that’s why he still mistrusts compliments 15 years later, or why he makes fun of himself before anyone else might get the chance.
From New York Times ● Jul. 29, 2021
Presently— "The real reason," she said, "is because she mistrusts her husband even more than I trust mine."
From Jonah and Co. by Yates, Dornford
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
“The human rights people mistrusted the military, the military distrusted the guerrillas.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 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
The witches had never seen anything like them before, and mistrusted them at once.
From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman
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
Together with a delegation of deeply mistrusting negotiators from Tehran, Vance is tasked with striking a lasting peace between rival nations that have failed to keep promises made days ago in a delicate last-minute ceasefire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 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
More and more, mistrusting his interpreters, he tries to speak in Kikongo.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
