Meaning & use
distrust
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Meanings
noununcountable
A feeling that you cannot trust someone or something, often because you are suspicious of them.
Grammar: Uncountable: you say 'a feeling of distrust', not 'a distrust'.
Patterns
- distrust of someone
- distrust for someone
- a feeling of distrust
There is growing distrust of the government among young people.
Her distrust of strangers made it hard for her to make new friends.
The scandal created deep distrust between the two companies.
verbtransitive
To regard someone or something with suspicion and a lack of confidence.
Grammar: Takes an object: distrust the results.
Patterns
- distrust someone
- distrust something
- distrust someone's motives
Many voters distrust politicians who make big promises.
She distrusted his sudden kindness and asked what he really wanted.
The scientists distrusted the data because the sample was so small.
Word forms
| third person singular | distrusts |
|---|---|
| past tense | distrusted |
| past participle | distrusted |
| -ing form | distrusting |
Common combinations
- distrust of
- His distrust of doctors kept him from getting treatment.
- deep distrust
- There is deep distrust between the two communities.
- mutual distrust
- The negotiations failed because of mutual distrust.
- distrust someone's motives
- I distrust his motives; he never does anything without a reason.
Synonyms and how they differ
- suspicion
- Suspicion is a feeling that something is wrong or someone is guilty, often without proof; distrust is a more general lack of confidence.
- mistrust
- Mistrust is very close in meaning but is slightly more formal and less common than distrust.
- doubt
- Doubt is a feeling of not being sure; it does not necessarily imply suspicion of someone's character.
Opposites
Word family
- distrustful adjective
- Feeling or showing distrust; suspicious.
- distrustfully adverb
- In a way that shows distrust.
- trust verb
- To believe that someone is honest and reliable.
- mistrust noun
- A lack of trust; a slightly more formal synonym.
Commonly confused: distrust or mistrust? distrust or disturb?
distrust vs mistrust
Mistrust and distrust mean almost the same, but mistrust is a little more formal and less common in everyday speech.
distrust vs disturb
Disturb means to interrupt or worry someone; distrust means to not trust.
Practice
There is a lot of ______ of the media among older voters.
Choose one answer.
The phrase 'a lot of ______ of' needs a noun, and 'distrust' is the noun. 'Distrustful' is an adjective, 'distrusting' is a verb form, and 'distrusted' is a past tense, so none fit after 'of'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “distrust”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.