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
Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 25 Feb. 2025
There’s a creeping distrust of this kind of maneuver, in which past glory is used to cover present discontent.
—Ian Penman, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
Li Yuan, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025
Kennedy holds an almost biblical status among his supporters, and a significant portion of those people distrust federal health agencies.
—Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 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
Knight has long maintained a complicated relationship with the rap world and often expressed distrust of those who had dealings with Tupac during the latter’s time at Death Row Records.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 25 Feb. 2025
There’s a creeping distrust of this kind of maneuver, in which past glory is used to cover present discontent.
—Ian Penman, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
Verb
What remained unclear is how much of a lasting boost China’s economy could get from the ingenuity of one start-up, or how much confidence the business community could derive from the sudden friendliness of a leader who has a reputation for distrusting and disliking the private sector.
—Li Yuan, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025
Kennedy holds an almost biblical status among his supporters, and a significant portion of those people distrust federal health agencies.
—Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 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 3 Mar. 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