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
Scott R. Schell, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
And yet, social and cultural efforts could not overcome the political divides that violence and distrust had dug into the French social fabric.
—Time, 21 Oct. 2025
Audrey Dutton, CNN Money, 23 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, ProPublica, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for distrust
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Noun
This aligns with research showing that rural social identity predicts skepticism of external experts, illustrating a rural orientation toward prudent distrust.
—Scott R. Schell, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
And yet, social and cultural efforts could not overcome the political divides that violence and distrust had dug into the French social fabric.
—Time, 21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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
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, ProPublica, 20 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 29 Oct. 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
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