Skip to main content
trustfully

trustfully

3.4
In a way that shows trust in someone or something
  • adverb
  • /ˈtrʌstfəlɪ/
translation icon : confiadamente
  • Two-thirds answered trustfully in 1964, and two-thirds answered distrustfully in 2000 (Hetherington and Globetti 2002).

Examples

  • Our two voices slid together trustfully; they were of one mind.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • She looked up at her mentor trustfully, expecting guidance on her career path.

  • Jaimie looked at me trustfully.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • As it happens, this little piece of writing, so trustfully put together in response to the demand for an immediate reply, had to wait longer than anything I had ever written for its ultimate publication.

    Academic text (2007)
  • She is shaky and leans on him trustfully.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The children trustfully handed over their toys to the stranger, believing he would let them play with them.

  • He trustfully shared his secrets with her, convinced that she would always keep them safe.

Synonyms

trustingly
vstrustfully
1 2.8

In a way that shows you believe a person or thing will help you

is the same meaning and usage in all contexts
confidingly
vstrustfully
6.0

In a way that shows you trust someone

covers both people and objects rather than only people
believingly
vstrustfully
8.9

In a way that shows you accept something as true

expresses confidence without implying naive or blind belief

Antonyms

In a way that shows you do not trust someone

How Trusting

naively
13 4.4
trustfully
3.4
hesitantly
14 3.2
warily
16 4.3

Surface Forms

trustfully positive
trustfuller comparative
trustfullest superlative

Morphology

trustfully = trustful (transparent) = trust + ful + ly

The adverb is transparently derived from the adjective 'trustful' by adding the adverbial suffix '-ly'.

Etymology

The word trustfully comes from the English noun trust, which goes back to an old Norse word traust that meant 'help' or 'protection'. The ending -ful means 'full of' and -ly turns it into 'in a ... way', so trustfully literally means 'in a way full of trust', which is why it describes acting with confidence in someone.