mistrusted; mistrusting; mistrusts
1
: to have no trust or confidence in : suspect
mistrusted his neighbors
2
: to doubt the truth, validity, or effectiveness of
mistrusted his own judgment
3
: surmise
your mind mistrusted there was something wrong—
Robert Frost
Robert Frost
: to be suspicious
Synonyms
Examples of mistrust in a Sentence
Noun
She has a strong mistrust of politicians.
had an unfortunate mistrust of doctors, so her medical condition was allowed to worsen
Verb
I was starting to mistrust my own judgment.
a recluse who mistrusts her neighbors and stays in her house all day
Recent Examples on the WebClaire Parker, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
For people in the business of opposing vaccination or unwelcome election results, mistrust of big financial institutions and tech companies is common.
—Lisa Hagen, NPR, 1 Apr. 2024
That’s partly because historical tensions and mistrust are pervasive: as one example, China still occasionally claims territory Russia considers its own.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 29 Mar. 2024
Transactions were vulnerable to interception and fraud, and there was a general mistrust regarding the safety of online data exchange.
—Alex Pruden, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
But now several recent polls capture mistrust brewing over the pace of immigration.
—Sara Miller Llana, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Mar. 2024
Like their English-language counterparts, French news outlets face declining advertising revenue, the spread of misinformation and increasing mistrust in the media.
—Joshua Berlinger, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024
The killing has generated tens of thousands of pages of testimony from hundreds of witnesses, along with books, documentaries, a TV mini-series and endless debate highlighting widespread mistrust of Mexico’s legal system.
—Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan. 2024
The medical system’s failures and harms against women gave rise to their pervasive vaccine skepticism and generalized medical mistrust.
—Johanna Richlin, The Conversation, 11 Mar. 2024
Zach Wichter, USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 2024
But news organizations have now started to mistrust the information fed to them by the palace.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 16 Mar. 2024
She will be instructed to ingest strange tinctures and coached to mistrust her own mind.
—Amanda Hess, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024
Journalistic defenders can be trusted to attack and shame anyone who mistrusts the official story.
—Rich Lowry, National Review, 13 Feb. 2024
But the closing minute of the Investigation Discovery show revealed that Antwon and Cynthia Mans were also growing to mistrust Natalia.
—Clare Fisher, Peoplemag, 4 Jan. 2024
Given that, the gut response here would be to mistrust the current work.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 8 Mar. 2023
Both add a layer of security to a process in which buyers often mistrust sellers.
—Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 31 Jan. 2024
Expertise, alone, is insufficient when people mistrust the experts' motives.
—Amy Maxmen, CBS News, 18 Jan. 2024
Noun
History: The roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mistrust are deep and complex, predating the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.
—Claire Parker, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
For people in the business of opposing vaccination or unwelcome election results, mistrust of big financial institutions and tech companies is common.
—Lisa Hagen, NPR, 1 Apr. 2024
That’s partly because historical tensions and mistrust are pervasive: as one example, China still occasionally claims territory Russia considers its own.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 29 Mar. 2024
Transactions were vulnerable to interception and fraud, and there was a general mistrust regarding the safety of online data exchange.
—Alex Pruden, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
But now several recent polls capture mistrust brewing over the pace of immigration.
—Sara Miller Llana, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Mar. 2024
Like their English-language counterparts, French news outlets face declining advertising revenue, the spread of misinformation and increasing mistrust in the media.
—Joshua Berlinger, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024
The killing has generated tens of thousands of pages of testimony from hundreds of witnesses, along with books, documentaries, a TV mini-series and endless debate highlighting widespread mistrust of Mexico’s legal system.
—Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan. 2024
The medical system’s failures and harms against women gave rise to their pervasive vaccine skepticism and generalized medical mistrust.
—Johanna Richlin, The Conversation, 11 Mar. 2024
Verb
Lima agreed that passengers mistrusting airlines is a big part of why so many passengers rely solely on carry-ons on their trips.
—Zach Wichter, USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 2024
But news organizations have now started to mistrust the information fed to them by the palace.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 16 Mar. 2024
She will be instructed to ingest strange tinctures and coached to mistrust her own mind.
—Amanda Hess, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024
Journalistic defenders can be trusted to attack and shame anyone who mistrusts the official story.
—Rich Lowry, National Review, 13 Feb. 2024
But the closing minute of the Investigation Discovery show revealed that Antwon and Cynthia Mans were also growing to mistrust Natalia.
—Clare Fisher, Peoplemag, 4 Jan. 2024
Given that, the gut response here would be to mistrust the current work.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 8 Mar. 2023
Both add a layer of security to a process in which buyers often mistrust sellers.
—Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 31 Jan. 2024
Expertise, alone, is insufficient when people mistrust the experts' motives.
—Amy Maxmen, CBS News, 18 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mistrust.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of mistrust was
in the 14th century
Dictionary Entries Near mistrust
Cite this Entry
“Mistrust.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mistrust. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
mistrust
1 of 2 noun
mis·trust
(ˈ)mis-ˈtrəst 
mistrust
2 of 2 verb
More from Merriam-Webster on mistrust
Nglish: Translation of mistrust for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of mistrust for Arabic Speakers
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