Meaning & use
untrustworthy person
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Meanings
phrasecountable
Someone who cannot be relied on to be honest, keep promises, or act in your interest.
Grammar: Acts as a countable noun phrase: you can say 'an untrustworthy person' or 'untrustworthy people'.
Patterns
- an untrustworthy person
- consider someone an untrustworthy person
- an untrustworthy person in a position of power
She warned me that her former business partner was an untrustworthy person.
It is hard to work with an untrustworthy person, because you never know what they will do next.
The report described him as an untrustworthy person who had lied to his own colleagues.
phrasecountabledisapproving
Used more generally to describe anyone whose honesty or reliability you doubt.
Grammar: Often used after verbs like 'seem', 'prove to be', or 'regard as'.
Patterns
- seem like an untrustworthy person
- prove to be an untrustworthy person
- regard someone as an untrustworthy person
He seemed like an untrustworthy person from the moment he started avoiding questions.
After the scandal, she was widely regarded as an untrustworthy person.
Voters decided he was an untrustworthy person and refused to support him again.
Common combinations
- an untrustworthy person
- An untrustworthy person should never be given access to private data.
- prove to be an untrustworthy person
- The assistant proved to be an untrustworthy person and was dismissed.
- regard someone as an untrustworthy person
- Many colleagues regarded him as an untrustworthy person after the incident.
- an untrustworthy person in power
- History shows how dangerous an untrustworthy person in power can be.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dishonest person
- Focuses on lying and cheating rather than on reliability in general.
- unreliable person
- Emphasizes not keeping promises or doing what is expected, without necessarily suggesting dishonesty.
- deceitful person
- Stronger and more disapproving; suggests a habit of deliberately misleading others.
Opposites
Word family
- untrustworthy adjective
- Describing someone or something that cannot be trusted.
- trustworthy adjective
- Describing someone or something you can rely on.
- trust verb
- To believe that someone is honest and reliable.
- distrust noun
- A feeling that someone cannot be trusted.
Commonly confused: untrustworthy person or untrusting person?
untrustworthy person vs untrusting person
'Untrusting' describes someone who does not trust others; 'untrustworthy' describes someone others should not trust.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option B makes logical sense: you avoid sharing secrets with someone you cannot trust. Option An and C contradict the meaning of 'untrustworthy', and option D wrongly describes yourself in a positive context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “untrustworthy person”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.