What does distrust mean?

Definitions for distrust
dɪsˈtrʌstdis·trust

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word distrust.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. misgiving, mistrust, distrust, suspicionnoun

    doubt about someone's honesty

  2. distrust, distrustfulness, mistrustverb

    the trait of not trusting others

  3. distrust, mistrust, suspectverb

    regard as untrustworthy; regard with suspicion; have no faith or confidence in

Wiktionary

  1. distrustnoun

    Lack of trust or confidence.

  2. distrustverb

    To put no trust in; to have no confidence in.

  3. Etymology: From dis- + trust

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Distrustnoun

    Etymology: from the verb.

    To me reproach
    Rather belongs, distrust, and all dispraise. John Milton, Par. Lost.

    You doubt not me; nor have I spent my blood,
    To have my faith no better understood:
    Your soul’s above the baseness of distrust;
    Nothing but love could make you so unjust. John Dryden, Aureng.

  2. To Distrustverb

    To regard with diffidence; to diffide in; not to trust.

    Etymology: dis and trust.

    He sheweth himself unto such as do not distrust him. Wisd.

Wikipedia

  1. Distrust

    Distrust is a formal way of not trusting any one party too much in a situation of grave risk or deep doubt. It is commonly expressed in civics as a division or balance of powers, or in politics as means of validating treaty terms. Systems based on distrust simply divide the responsibility so that checks and balances can operate. The phrase "trust, but verify" refers specifically to distrust.

ChatGPT

  1. distrust

    Distrust is a feeling of doubt or suspicion about the reliability, honesty, integrity, or abilities of someone or something. It is the lack of confidence or the state of being unwilling to trust or lack of trust in a person, group, or system.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Distrustverb

    to feel absence of trust in; not to confide in or rely upon; to deem of questionable sufficiency or reality; to doubt; to be suspicious of; to mistrust

  2. Distrustnoun

    doubt of sufficiency, reality, or sincerity; want of confidence, faith, or reliance; as, distrust of one's power, authority, will, purposes, schemes, etc

  3. Distrustnoun

    suspicion of evil designs

  4. Distrustnoun

    state of being suspected; loss of trust

  5. Etymology: [Cf. Mistrust.]

Wikidata

  1. Distrust

    Distrust is a formal way of not trusting any one party too much in a situation of grave risk or deep doubt. It is commonly expressed in civics as a division or balance of powers, or in politics as means of validating treaty terms. Systems based on distrust simply divide the responsibility so that checks and balances can operate. The phrase "Trust, but verify" refers specifically to distrust. An electoral system or adversarial process inevitably is based on distrust, but not on mistrust. Parties compete in the system, but they do not compete to subvert the system itself, or gain bad faith advantage through it - if they do they are easily caught by the others. Of course much mistrust does exist between parties, and it is exactly this which motivates putting in place a formal system of distrust. Diplomatic protocol for instance, which applies between states, relies on such means as formal disapproval which in effect say "we do not trust that person". It also tends to rely on a strict etiquette - distrusting each person's habits to signal their intent, and instead relying on a global standard for behaviour in sensitive social settings. A protocol as defined in computer science uses a more formal idea of distrust itself. Different parts of a system are not supposed to "trust" each other but rather perform specific assertions, requests and validations. Once these are passed, the responsibility for errors lies strictly with the receiving part of the system, not that which sent the original information. Applying this principle inside one program is called contract-based design.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Distrust

    dis-trust′, n. want of trust: want of faith or confidence: doubt.—v.t. to have no trust in: to disbelieve: to doubt.—adj. Distrust′ful, full of distrust: apt to distrust: suspicious.—adv. Distrust′fully.—n. Distrust′fulness.—adj. Distrust′less.

Suggested Resources

  1. Distrust

    Distrust vs. Mistrust -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Distrust and Mistrust.

  2. Distrust

    Mistrust vs. Distrust -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Mistrust and Distrust.

Matched Categories

How to pronounce distrust?

How to say distrust in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of distrust in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of distrust in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of distrust in a Sentence

  1. Malcolm Glazer:

    The Glazers say they want to rebuild the trust but they never had the trust of the supporters. I think (the protests are) a warning to the owners of the football club that ultimately they’re not going to accept what they’ve done in the last couple of weeks, this is a consequence of the Manchester United owners’ actions two weeks ago. There is a general distrust and dislike of the owners, but they weren’t protesting two or three weeks ago.

  2. Spun Gold:

    Harry was born into a marriage that was falling apart, and it’s a marriage that played out on the world stage… The dirty laundry is right out there… Then at age 12, he has to walk behind his mother’s coffin in front of 2 billion people watching from around the world. He has to shake the hands of people who are weeping, who haven’t even met his mother. And yet he has to hold it together. Prince Harry (center) with his brother Prince William and father Prince Charles at Princess Diana's funeral. (Reuters) That plays forward to today in terms of why Harry wants to be so protective of Meghan. When the British press were frankly being racist about her arrival to the U.K. and into the royal family, Harry issues a statement essentially saying 'back off.' And they did back off. He couldn’t protect his mother as a 12-year-old boy, but he is determined to protect Meghan. And it comes as no surprise that he and his brother have a big distrust of the media.

  3. Rachel Caufield:

    This is home of rural populism and it manifests in very different ways on theft and the right, on the left if manifests as a distrust of corporations and economic power.And Hillary Clinton’s message is n’t resonating with those folks in the same way that say Barack Obama’s did. You still have a lot of those folks who were diehard Bernie supporters who will continue to be Bernie supporters and they’re not sure that Hillary Clinton embraces some of the ideological positions that they want to see in their Democratic Party.

  4. Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Jordan:

    As one of his final acts as U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., Ronald Machen used his power as a political weapon to undermine the rule of law, machen was legally bound to convene a grand jury, but instead he ignored his obligation and unilaterally decided to ignore the will of the House. … This is wrong, and a great example of why so many Americans distrust their government.

  5. Bill Bradley:

    I better understand distrust and suspicion. I understand the meaning of certain looks and certain codes. I understand what it is to be in racial situations for which you have no frame of reference, i understand the tension of always being on guard, of never totally relaxing.

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Translations for distrust

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"distrust." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/distrust>.

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