mistrust
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
mistrusts,
present (3rd person singular)
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mistrusted,
past participle, past
-
mistrusting
present participle
-
to regard with mistrust, suspicion, or doubt; distrust.
-
to surmise.
verb (used without object)
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mistrusts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
mistrusted,
past participle, past
-
mistrusting
present participle
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:
The Ebola campaign faces mistrust from some people in a country where the state struggles to make its presence felt and corruption is widespread.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
They have spent a lot of time and a whole lot of money creating this environment of mistrust and suspicion, each for their own purposes but sharing the same goal, and it’s paid off handsomely.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026
Participants who had more frequent contact with others were also more likely to report increased conflict, greater mistrust, and lower performance.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
“There’s a lot of mistrust for the status quo right now,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The National Research Council, which had been founded in 1916 as a conduit of government funds to academic institutions but had been hobbled by political infighting and academic mistrust, became revivified in the postwar years.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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 fisherman mistrusts her motive and gains enlightenment when she tells him there is no deceit in heaven.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2016
My love for you, Gabriel, makes me anxious to think well of her, but my fatherly care mistrusts her as a wife for a man of your nature.'
From The Bishop's Secret by Fergus Hume
She mistrusted the comfort of a collective identity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 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
Ben McKenzie mistrusted Sam Bankman-Fried after spending an hour with him.
From Slate ● Oct. 5, 2023
As I’ve said, Plato mistrusted rhetoric— as he mistrusted poetry and drama.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
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
"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
They become more mistrusting of everybody around them.
From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2019
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.
