Mistrust

Mistrust

Noun / Verb · /ˌmɪsˈtrʌst/

Definition

(Noun) a lack of trust or confidence in someone or something; suspicion or doubt about a person's motives or reliability; (Verb) to regard someone or something with suspicion or doubt; to not trust.

Origin

From mis- (wrongly, badly) + trust (confidence, reliance, from Old Norse traust, confidence, help, from Proto-Germanic *traustam, related to the root that gives true). Mistrust is the noun and verb formed from adding the negativing prefix mis- to trust. The word appearing in English from the 15th century. A distinction is sometimes drawn between mistrust (a general wariness or lack of confidence, somewhat passive) and distrust (a more active, stronger feeling of suspicion based on specific reasons) — though the two words are often used interchangeably.