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Glite Dictionary
mistrustful

mistrustful

5 5.2
Not trusting people and not willing to tell them private things
  • adjective
  • /ˌmɪsˈtrʌstfəl/
translation icon : desconfiado
  • Many employees remain mistrustful of new management after recent layoffs.

Examples

  • But she is mistrustful of Americans.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • If everyone is a stranger, then we all become mistrustful and disconnected.

    Blog text (32)

  • David is still mistrustful of this wild street kid.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • You know, people are very mistrustful.

    Lions for Lambs (2007)

  • No wonder parents are so mistrustful of physicians anymore.

    Blog text (10)

  • He's just a mistrustful fellow.

    The Scout (1994)

  • In general, drug users feel troubled, inadequate, mistrustful, and lonely.

    Academic text (2002)

  • I'm mistrustful of people who want it so badly they'll spend a king's ransom to get it.

    Blog text (7)

  • I'm really very mistrustful.

    Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

  • Today, however, it is the U.S. West that is revisionist, while Europe's West remains mired in introspection and is mistrustful of change.

    Academic text (2003)

Synonyms

paranoid
vsmistrustful
392 5.6

Feeling very afraid and not trusting other people

is less extreme and more about everyday unwillingness to confide
skeptical
vsmistrustful
  • US
286 4.2

Not easily believing that something is true

applies doubt to people and includes refusal to confide
suspicious
vsmistrustful
138 3.2

Not trusting other people or what they say

is more openly unwilling to share private thoughts with others
wary
vsmistrustful
110 3.6

Careful because you do not trust someone or something

is more about open refusal to share personal information than caution
leery
vsmistrustful
23 6.9

Careful because you do not trust someone or something

is more openly unwilling to confide rather than merely careful
distrustful
vsmistrustful
10 5.4

Not trusting other people and doubting their honesty

focuses more on open lack of trust and not confiding
untrusting
vsmistrustful
2 4.9

A person who does not easily believe others or share feelings with them

is more openly unwilling to share secrets rather than quietly doubtful
paranoidal
vsmistrustful
9.3

Feeling very suspicious and afraid that others will harm you

is milder and reflects ordinary lack of trust rather than extreme fear

Antonyms

trusting
12 2.1

Willing to believe people are honest

How Trusting

confiding
5.8
trusting
12 2.1
mistrustful
5 5.2
suspicious
300 2.7
wary
110 3.6

Surface Forms

mistrustful positive
mistrustfuller comparative
mistrustfullest superlative

Morphology

mistrustful = mistrust (transparent) = mis + trust + ful

Formed from the standalone word 'mistrust' plus the productive suffix '-ful' meaning 'full of', so the meaning is directly derivable.

Etymology

Mistrustful comes from the prefix mis- (as in mistake) meaning 'not' or 'wrong' and the word trust meaning 'to believe or rely on'. With the ending -ful meaning 'full of', mistrustful is 'full of not trusting', so it describes someone who is suspicious and does not want to rely on or confide in others.