distrust \dis*trust"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Distrusted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Distrusting}.] [Cf. {Mistrust}.] 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.
Not distrusting my health. --2 Mac. ix. 22.
To distrust the justice of your cause. --Dryden.
He that requireth the oath doth distrust that other. --Udall.
Of all afraid, Distrusting all, a wise, suspicious maid. --Collins.
Note: Mistrust has been almost wholly driven out by distrust. --T. L. K. Oliphant.
distrust \dis*trust"\, n. 1. Doubt of sufficiency, reality, or sincerity; lack of confidence, faith, or reliance; as, distrust of one's power, authority, will, purposes, schemes, etc.
2. Suspicion of evil designs.
Alienation and distrust . . . are the growth of false principles. --D. Webster.
3. State of being suspected; loss of trust. --Milton.
"There is an atmosphere of distrust throughout the ministry," says Mr. Miranda, who now gives French lessons here.
The government and the opposition sat down at the same table to seek a common course for Poland's future, but Solidarity chairman Lech Walesa cautioned that deep distrust hangs over the historic talks.
So too in Cambodia, where the coalition fighting Vietnam is rife with internal distrust and hatred.
Most serious of all, mutual distrust built up by eight years of war and threats will make agreements difficult.
Whether the Soviet Union, with its long history of distrust of Western capitalism, will readily accept IMF dictates remains to be seen.
"The anencephalic issue can only add to that distrust and have a chilling effect on organ donation generally," he says.
They are armed because they distrust each other.
Much of the public distrust, manifested in the angry slogans at the May Day parade, stems from economic deterioration under halfway measures that have left the country between central planning and a Western-style market.
It makes me sympathise with John Major's distrust of paper qualifications.
If there is a system of generalized distrust toward power, that is liberalism.
The distrust between them and among Arab leaders remains too great.
Violence is on the rise, with unpunished political killings heightening the sense of fear and distrust.
Nicolas Militaru, who retired eight years ago from the army as commander of the Bucharest garrison, one of many military men toppled by Ceausescu, whose distrust of the army grew after an attempted military coup in 1984.
The ruling party, widely unpopular, is benefiting from the protests because they have stirred distrust of opposition leader Kim Dae Jung among both dissidents, who are his traditional supporters, and South Korea's middle class.
The fourth round of peace talks resumed Tuesday in a climate of mutual distrust, but both sides said they might be nearing agreement after more than six years of war.
But China's experiment with Stalinist central planning in the early 1950s was judged a failure, while Beijing had less reason than Moscow to distrust its regional governments.
Contact between most whites and blacks is minimal and there is enormous distrust and fear on both sides.
This is not to express distrust of Gorbachev, but to stress the commitment to democracy," he told a news conference.
Given their distrust of Mr. Reagan and their suspicion that America itself has moved to the right, many Britons worry about the American nuclear arsenal based on British soil.
Rakowski became editor-in-chief of the party weekly Polityka in 1958, a post he held until 1982, and gave it a reputation as a progressive center within the official press and winning him the distrust of conservatives within the party.
The envisioned economic might of a united Germany has coupled with vivid memories of its 1939 military invasion to focus distrust on Germans.
It reflects a truth that I have so often noted: nations do not distrust each other because they are armed; they are armed because they distrust each other.
It reflects a truth that I have so often noted: nations do not distrust each other because they are armed; they are armed because they distrust each other.
Many of the potential jurors said they discounted what they had read, because of a distrust of the press.
Nationalism is almost a little bit discriminated against because the elder generation is full of distrust. 'And we have a lot of problems.
"People still deeply distrust the government," he explains.
Many - not all - of the radical economists associated with a more rapid dash for the market distrust Mr Pavlov deeply: after all, as finance minister, he was responsible for debauching the currency.
And devaluation, adding to distrust of the currency, discourages the return of flight capital and new peso investments.
Deadlocks on troop strengths and verification of troop and weapons cuts, among other issues, proved insurmountable in the climate of distrust generated by superpower confrontation.
Despite Mr. Bush's distrust of multilateral solutions, for instance, he and the Reagan administration have looked to U.N. negotiators to work out a cease-fire in the IranIraq war.