distrusted; distrusting; distrusts
: to have no trust or confidence in
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
Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
Such a move would also fuel distrust between the US and China and heighten their nuclear arms rivalry, analysts said.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 31 Oct. 2025
David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
It’s rooted in a belief system that distrusts institutions — government health agencies, vaccine makers, medical societies and others — on the premise that those institutions seek only money and control.
—Audrey Dutton, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for distrust
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
The process of retrieving remains is plagued a deep sense of distrust that has prevailed between the two parties both throughout the past two years of war and in a ceasefire period already marked by dueling accusations of violations.
—Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
Such a move would also fuel distrust between the US and China and heighten their nuclear arms rivalry, analysts said.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
But when newspapers shifted from reinforcing social order to documenting disorder in readers’ own communities, audiences responded by distrusting the institution that shattered their comforting myths.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
It’s rooted in a belief system that distrusts institutions — government health agencies, vaccine makers, medical societies and others — on the premise that those institutions seek only money and control.
—Audrey Dutton, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for distrust
Cite this Entry
“Distrust.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/distrust. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share