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
Ali Swenson, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026 According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Retail Investor Outlook, Gen-Z’s trust in traditional financial institutions has fallen over the past two years, with nearly 20% of non-investors citing distrust of financial institutions as a reason for staying out of markets entirely. —Anniek Bao, CNBC, 22 Apr. 2026
Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 23 Apr. 2026 About the same share, 34%, distrusted it, and another 33% neither trusted it nor distrusted it. —Linley Sanders, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026 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
Ahead of Wednesday’s hearings, experts said his handling of them could affect his chances at a pivotal moment of his reelection campaign and set the tone for how Congress oversees the nation’s health agenda at a time of rampant distrust and misinformation. —Ali Swenson, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026 According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Retail Investor Outlook, Gen-Z’s trust in traditional financial institutions has fallen over the past two years, with nearly 20% of non-investors citing distrust of financial institutions as a reason for staying out of markets entirely. —Anniek Bao, CNBC, 22 Apr. 2026
Verb
Surely, the paradox of people distrusting AI and yet relying on it can only last so long. —Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 23 Apr. 2026 About the same share, 34%, distrusted it, and another 33% neither trusted it nor distrusted it. —Linley Sanders, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for distrust
Cite this Entry
“Distrust.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/dictionary/distrust. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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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