distrusted; distrusting; distrusts
: to have no trust or confidence in
Synonyms
Examples of distrust in a Sentence
Noun
He has a distrust of doctors.
the psychic's bold claims were greeted with distrust and outright scorn
Verb
She's always distrusted their promises.
we instinctively distrust those phone calls that tell us we have won a free vacation or car
Recent Examples on the Web
Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024
The distrust exemplifies a challenge: How do those agencies, which control much of the land in the Western half of the country, navigate competing mandates for conservation, resource extraction and fire safety as forest health declines across the West?
—Anna Kramer, New York Times, 6 June 2024
Eli Saslow, New York Times, 12 June 2024
The resistance, research shows, is tied not only to residents’ lack of means to maintain trees but also to distrust.
—Jingnan Peng, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for distrust 
Noun
For the most part, the Kenyan elections showed how digital technology can help to overcome problems of distrust during the voting process.
—Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024
The distrust exemplifies a challenge: How do those agencies, which control much of the land in the Western half of the country, navigate competing mandates for conservation, resource extraction and fire safety as forest health declines across the West?
—Anna Kramer, New York Times, 6 June 2024
Verb
More than 80 percent of voters in Esmeralda County voted for Mr. Trump in 2020, and many of them distrust the media.
—Eli Saslow, New York Times, 12 June 2024
The resistance, research shows, is tied not only to residents’ lack of means to maintain trees but also to distrust.
—Jingnan Peng, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for distrust
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'distrust.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near distrust
Cite this Entry
“Distrust.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/distrust. Accessed 18 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
distrust
1 of 2 verb
dis·trust
(ˈ)dis-ˈtrəst 
: to have no trust or confidence in
distrust
2 of 2 noun
: a lack of trust or confidence
distrustful
adjective
-fəl
distrustfully
adverb
-fə-lē
distrustfulness
noun
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