Meaning & use
mistrust
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Meanings
noununcountable
A feeling that you cannot trust someone or something; lack of confidence in someone's honesty or reliability.
Grammar: Uncountable, so you say 'a lot of mistrust' or 'deep mistrust', not 'a mistrust'.
Patterns
- mistrust of someone/something
- mistrust between people
- deep mistrust
There is growing mistrust between the two communities.
Her mistrust of doctors kept her from seeking treatment.
The scandal created widespread mistrust of the government.
verbtransitive
To have little or no trust in someone or something; to doubt someone's honesty or reliability.
Grammar: Takes an object: 'She mistrusts his motives.'
Patterns
- mistrust someone/something
Many voters mistrust politicians who make big promises.
He mistrusted the offer because it seemed too good to be true.
She mistrusts anyone who tries to flatter her.
Word forms
| third person singular | mistrusts |
|---|---|
| past tense | mistrusted |
| past participle | mistrusted |
| -ing form | mistrusting |
Common combinations
- deep mistrust
- Years of conflict had created deep mistrust on both sides.
- mutual mistrust
- Mutual mistrust prevented them from reaching an agreement.
- mistrust of the media
- Public mistrust of the media has grown in recent years.
- breed mistrust
- Such secrecy can breed mistrust among employees.
Synonyms and how they differ
- distrust
- Very close in meaning, but distrust often suggests a stronger, more active decision not to trust.
- suspicion
- Suspicion is a feeling that something is wrong or someone is guilty, while mistrust is more about not relying on someone.
- doubt
- Doubt is about uncertainty, not necessarily about trust; you can doubt a fact but mistrust a person.
Opposites
Word family
- mistrustful adjective
- Feeling that you cannot trust someone or something.
- mistrustfully adverb
- In a way that shows a lack of trust.
Commonly confused: mistrust or distrust?
mistrust vs distrust
They are often used interchangeably, but distrust can suggest a more definite and active lack of trust, while mistrust is often a general feeling of unease.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
The noun 'mistrust' is followed by 'of': mistrust of strangers. Option 1 uses the wrong preposition, option 2 uses the verb with 'of' incorrectly, and option 3 uses the noun as an adjective.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mistrust”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.