INDEX:
1. when you think someone is honest
2. when you can be sure that someone will do what you want
3. the feeling that you can trust someone
4. words for describing someone who always trusts other people
5. something you can trust
6. not trust
7. the feeling that you cannot trust someone
8. words for describing someone who does not usually trust other people
9. ways of describing someone who you do not trust
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ HONEST
↑ DISHONEST
↑ LIE
↑ TRICK/DECEIVE
↑ CHEAT
↑ BETRAY
◆◆◆
1. when you think someone is honest
▷ trust /trʌst/ [transitive verb not usually in progressive]
to believe that someone is honest and will not tell lies, cheat you, or do anything that would harm you :
▪ David’s one of my oldest friends - I trust him completely.
can trust somebody
feel sure that they are honest
▪ The hardest thing is finding a car dealer you can trust!
(can) trust somebody to do something
▪ ‘He’s only fourteen.’ ‘I know, but I think we can trust him to look after the baby for an hour.’
▷ trustworthy /ˈtrʌstˌwɜːʳði/ [adjective] especially written
if someone is trustworthy, you can trust them because they are honest :
▪ We got the information from a trustworthy source.
▪ Most of our employees are pretty trustworthy, I think.
2. when you can be sure that someone will do what you want
▷ can depend/rely on somebody /kən dɪˈpend, rɪˈlaɪ ɒn somebody/ [verb phrase]
if you can depend on someone or can rely on them, you can be sure that they will do what you want or need them to do :
▪ It’s going to be a stressful time - you’ll need to have someone with you who you can depend on.
can depend/rely on sb to do something
▪ We knew we could rely on Tom to bring some good music.
▷ reliable /rɪˈlaɪəb ə l/ [adjective]
someone who is reliable can be trusted to do what they say they will do and not make any mistakes :
▪ It’s strange Ben isn’t here. He’s usually so reliable.
▪ In many offices the most reliable people with the longest service are the secretaries.
▷ responsible /rɪˈspɒnsɪb ə l, rɪˈspɒnsəb ə lǁrɪˈspɑːn-/ [adjective]
someone who is responsible can be trusted to behave in a sensible way, so you do not need to worry that they will do something careless or stupid :
▪ We never worried about letting Sam babysit our kids - he’d always seemed very responsible and intelligent.
▪ He treated me as if I wasn’t responsible enough to be given the tools to do my job.
responsible behaviour/decisions etc
▪ Two new programs are being developed to help promote responsible sexual behavior.
▷ loyal /ˈlɔɪəl/ [adjective]
someone who is loyal can be trusted to always give help or support to their friends, their country, their political party etc :
▪ a loyal supporter of the Green Party
▪ She was described as a loyal friend of the Princess.
loyal to
▪ Although they continue to argue, she remains fiercely loyal to her mother.
loyalty [countable/uncountable noun]
loyal behaviour :
▪ The attempted coup failed, thanks to the loyalty of the army.
3. the feeling that you can trust someone
▷ trust /trʌst/ [uncountable noun]
▪ After the scandal, the company lost the trust of many of its clients.
▪ Establishing trust is the first thing a good teacher does with any student.
trust in
▪ Despite her many misfortunes, her trust in God was never shaken.
put/place (your) trust in someone
trust somebody
▪ People put their trust in their elected officials and expect them to do the best job they can.
betray somebody’s trust
do something that shows they should not have trusted you
▪ She has betrayed the trust which we placed in her.
mutual trust
when two people or groups trust each other
▪ To be good leaders, managers must create a climate of mutual trust and respect.
▷ confidence /ˈkɒnfɪd ə ns, ˈkɒnfəd ə nsǁˈkɑːn-/ [uncountable noun]
a strong belief that you can trust a person, system, product etc, and that they will do what they say they will or do what they are supposed to do :
▪ The new president has the confidence and backing of all of the leaders of the surrounding states.
confidence in
▪ It’s obviously very important to build up the consumer’s confidence in our product.
lose confidence
▪ Opinion polls show that the voters have lost confidence in the administration.
public confidence
the confidence of the people
▪ The agency works hard to increase public confidence so that people are not afraid to report racist incidents.
crisis of confidence
when confidence in a person, system etc becomes very weak
▪ The country’s highly respected Finance Ministry is facing a crisis of confidence that will be difficult to reverse.
▷ faith /feɪθ/ [uncountable noun]
a strong belief that someone or something can always be depended on to do or say what is right or good :
faith in
▪ My mother’s total faith in God always amazed me.
have faith
▪ He had great faith in her judgement, and consulted her about everything.
lose faith
▪ After what she’s been through, I can understand why she’s lost faith in the legal system.
▷ blind faith /ˌblaɪnd ˈfeɪθ/ [uncountable noun]
a very strong and unreasonable belief that someone can always be trusted, especially when it is wrong or dangerous to trust them :
▪ There’s a great difference between ordinary loyalty and blind faith.
blind faith in
▪ Many doctors are worried by the villagers’ blind faith in traditional healing methods.
4. words for describing someone who always trusts other people
▷ trusting /ˈtrʌstɪŋ/ [adjective]
always trusting other people, especially when this means you can be easily tricked :
▪ Sometimes you’re too trusting. You shouldn’t lend money to anyone who says they need it.
▪ She had an innocent, trusting nature, and I worried about how she’d cope in the big city.
▷ naïve /naɪˈiːvǁnɑːˈiːv/ [adjective]
always trusting other people, especially when this means you are easily tricked - use this especially about people who are young or do not have much experience :
▪ At the time, I was very naïve and truly believed that our leaders were people of great ability and intellect.
▪ Rogers isn’t naïve enough to think that his film will rake in money, but he thinks it will be well-received.
naïvely [adverb]
▪ I rather naïvely gave my address to a man I met in an Internet chat room.
5. something you can trust
▷ reliable /rɪˈlaɪəb ə l/ [adjective]
a reliable machine, system etc always works well; reliable information, books etc do not contain mistakes and are likely to be correct :
▪ Do you have a reliable map of the area?
▪ My car’s quite old, but it’s still pretty reliable.
▪ In those days there was no reliable system of transportation between Alaska and the rest of the US.
▷ can rely/depend on something /kən rɪˈlaɪ, dɪˈpend ɒn something/ [verb phrase]
if you can depend on something or can rely on it, you can be sure that it will always work well :
▪ You can depend on the postal service here. It’s very good.
▪ If we can rely on the weather report, it’s going to be hot tomorrow.
▪ Of course people will use their cars if they cannot depend on buses and trains to get them to work.
6. not trust
▷ not trust /nɒt ˈtrʌst/ [transitive verb]
▪ I don’t know what to do. I mean if I can’t trust my best friend, who can I trust?
▪ Don’t trust him. He’s lying.
not trust somebody with something
▪ I wouldn’t trust him with my money.
▪ It can be difficult to trust anyone with some of your innermost secrets.
not trust somebody an inch
British not trust someone at all
▪ I thing you’re mad giving him such an important job. I wouldn’t trust him an inch.
not trust somebody as far as you can throw them
not trust someone at all
▪ As for his ‘advisors’, he said he wouldn’t trust them as far as he could throw them.
▷ can’t rely on also can’t trust somebody/something /ˌkɑːnt rɪˈlaɪ ɒn , ˌkɑːnt ˈtrʌst somebody/something ǁˌkænt-/ [verb phrase]
to be unable to trust someone to do what they say they will do, or to be unable to trust a machine, system etc to work well :
▪ You can’t rely on the buses. I’ve stood here for twenty minutes waiting for one to come.
can’t rely on to do something
▪ We need clearer regulations, but you can’t trust the government to simplify anything.
▷ unreliable /ˌʌnrɪˈlaɪəb ə l◂/ [adjective]
if someone is unreliable, you cannot be sure that they will do what they say they will do; if a machine, car etc is unreliable, it often stops working and you cannot be sure it will work well :
▪ We could ask our neighbours to feed the cat, but they’re a little unreliable.
▪ Telephone service in most of the country is unreliable.
▷ be suspicious of /biː səˈspɪʃəs ɒv/ [verb phrase]
to have a feeling that you should not trust someone or something, although you are not sure why :
▪ I’m always suspicious of people who offer me money.
deeply suspicious
very suspicious
▪ She had no proof at all, but nonetheless was deeply suspicious of her former friend’s motives.
▷ distrust/mistrust /dɪsˈtrʌst, mɪsˈtrʌst/ [transitive verb]
to not trust someone :
▪ ‘Was she seeing a doctor?’ ‘No, to my knowledge she mistrusted doctors.’
▪ He distrusted people who were too friendly too quickly.
7. the feeling that you cannot trust someone
▷ distrust/mistrust /dɪsˈtrʌst, mɪsˈtrʌst/ [uncountable noun]
▪ The talks took place in an atmosphere of hostility and distrust.
▪ The city’s school system has been hurt by low morale and public mistrust.
distrust/mistrust of
▪ Dylan’s natural mistrust of reporters makes him a difficult man to interview.
▷ suspicion /səˈspɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
the feeling that you cannot trust someone, even though you may not know exactly why :
▪ Terry’s grandmother looked at me with suspicion and demanded, ‘Who’s this?’
▪ When I asked about Gerald, Susan’s usually kind face clouded with fear and suspicion.
arouse suspicion
make people feel suspicion
▪ The timing of his trip aroused suspicion among his government colleagues.
8. words for describing someone who does not usually trust other people
▷ suspicious /səˈspɪʃəs/ [adjective]
▪ The officials we met in the capital looked suspicious and tense, as if they were expecting us to declare war on them.
suspicious of
▪ The local people were suspicious of me because of my somewhat unusual lifestyle.
▷ distrustful/mistrustful /dɪsˈtrʌstf ə l, mɪsˈtrʌstf ə l/ [adjective]
▪ He was unsociable and distrustful, but also a fanatical worker.
distrustful/mistrustful of
▪ For nearly a whole century, Eastern and Western Europe remained deeply distrustful of each other.
▪ Many people are still very mistrustful of computers.
9. ways of describing someone who you do not trust
▷ somebody can’t be trusted / somebody ˌkɑːnt biː ˈtrʌstə̇dǁ-ˌkænt-/ spoken
say this about someone you do not trust :
▪ Many people feel that lawyers can’t be trusted, that they are just out for the money and nothing else.
sb can’t be trusted to do something
▪ Sharon can’t be trusted to look after her own money, let alone deal with other people’s.
sb can’t be trusted with
▪ Don’t say anything to Ed - he can’t be trusted with confidential information.
▷ somebody looks/seems suspicious / somebody ˌlʊks, ˌsiːmz səˈspɪʃəs/
use this about someone whose appearance or behaviour makes you think that they may intend to do something dishonest or harmful :
▪ The cop said we looked suspicious and that he was arresting us - just for standing on a corner!
▪ The whole operation seemed very suspicious to me, so I thought I’d take a closer look.