Trust

/tɹʌst/ adj, intj, noun, verb, slang

adj, intj, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: Confidence in or reliance on some person or quality.
  • Grammar: trust is listed as adj, intj, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: confidence, faith, reliance, absolute interest.
  • Useful contrasts: mistrusting, sus, suspected.
  • Usage evidence: If the world weren't in the shape it is now, I could trust anyone.

How to use "trust"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "trust" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "trust" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "trust" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "trust" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "trust" is acting as adj, intj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "confidence" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "trust", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Confidence in or reliance on some person or quality. countable, uncountable

    "He needs to regain her trust if he is ever going to win her back."

  2. 2
    the trait of believing in the honesty and reliability of others wordnet
  3. 3
    Dependence upon something in the future; hope. countable, uncountable

    "Such trust have we through Christ."

  4. 4
    certainty based on past experience wordnet
  5. 5
    Confidence in the future payment for goods or services supplied; credit. countable, uncountable

    "I was out of cash, but the landlady let me have it on trust."

Show 12 more definitions
  1. 6
    complete confidence in a person or plan etc wordnet
  2. 7
    That which is committed or entrusted; something received in confidence; a charge. countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    a consortium of independent organizations formed to limit competition by controlling the production and distribution of a product or service wordnet
  4. 9
    That upon which confidence is reposed; ground of reliance; hope. countable, uncountable

    "O Lord God, thou art my trust from my youth."

  5. 10
    something (as property) held by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary) wordnet
  6. 11
    Trustworthiness, reliability. countable, rare, uncountable
  7. 12
    a trustful relationship wordnet
  8. 13
    The condition or obligation of one to whom anything is confided; responsible charge or office. countable, uncountable

    "I do profess to be no less than I seem; to serve him truly that will put me in trust"

  9. 14
    The confidence vested in a person who has legal ownership of a property to manage for the benefit of another. countable, uncountable

    "I put the house into my sister's trust."

  10. 15
    An arrangement whereby property or money is given to be held by a third party (a trustee), on the basis that it will be managed for the benefit of, or eventually transferred to, a stated beneficiary; for example, money to be given to a child when he or she reaches adulthood. countable, uncountable
  11. 16
    A group of businessmen or traders organised for mutual benefit to produce and distribute specific commodities or services, and managed by a central body of trustees. countable, uncountable
  12. 17
    Affirmation of the access rights of a user of a computer system. countable, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To place confidence in, to rely on, to confide in. transitive

    "We cannot trust anyone who deceives us."

  2. 2
    have confidence or faith in wordnet
  3. 3
    To have faith in; to rely on for continuing support or aid. intransitive

    "In God We Trust"

  4. 4
    be confident about something wordnet
  5. 5
    To give credence to; to believe; to credit. transitive

    "Trust me, you looke well."

Show 12 more definitions
  1. 6
    expect and wish wordnet
  2. 7
    To hope confidently; to believe (usually with a phrase or infinitive clause as the object) transitive

    "I trust you have cleaned your room?"

  3. 8
    (chiefly archaic) extend credit to wordnet
  4. 9
    to show confidence in a person by entrusting them with something. transitive

    "Whom, with your power and fortune, sir, you trust, Now to suspect is vain."

  5. 10
    confer a trust upon wordnet
  6. 11
    To commit, as to one's care; to entrust. transitive

    "Merchants were not willing to trust precious cargoes to any custody but that of a man-of-war."

  7. 12
    allow without fear wordnet
  8. 13
    To give credit to; to sell to upon credit, or in confidence of future payment. transitive

    "Merchants and manufacturers trust their customers annually with goods."

  9. 14
    To rely on (something), as though having trust (on it). intransitive, with-to

    "to trust to luck"

  10. 15
    To risk; to venture confidently. archaic, transitive

    "[Beguiled] by thee to trust thee from my side."

  11. 16
    To have trust; to be credulous; to be won to confidence; to confide. intransitive

    "More ſhould I queſtion thee, and more I muſt, / Though more to know, could not be more to truſt: […]"

  12. 17
    To sell or deliver anything in reliance upon a promise of payment; to give credit. archaic, intransitive
Adjective
  1. 1
    Secure, safe. obsolete
  2. 2
    Faithful, dependable. obsolete
  3. 3
    of or relating to a trust.
Intj
  1. 1
    Ellipsis of trust me, often used sarcastically or self-mockingly. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, slang

    "You'll get your money back bro, trust."

Synonyms

All synonyms
confidencefaithrelianceabsolute interestacceptaccept at face value

Antonyms

mistrustingsussuspectedmore grounding

Example

"If the world weren't in the shape it is now, I could trust anyone."

Common questions

What does "trust" mean?

Confidence in or reliance on some person or quality.

What is a synonym for "trust"?

Common synonyms include: confidence, faith, reliance, absolute interest, accept, accept at face value.

How do you use "trust" in a sentence?

If the world weren't in the shape it is now, I could trust anyone.

How do you pronounce "trust"?

Pronounced /tɹʌst/.

Etymology

From Middle English trust, trost (“trust, protection”). Long considered a borrowing from Old Norse traust (“confidence, help, protection”), from Proto-Germanic *traustą, but the root vocalism is incompatible, so trust has come to be considered a reflex of an unattested Old English *trust, from a rare zero-grade Proto-Germanic variant of the same root also attested in Middle High German getrüste (“host”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deru- (“be firm, hard, solid”). Akin to Danish trøst (“comfort, solace”), Saterland Frisian Traast (“comfort, solace”), West Frisian treast (“comfort, solace”), Dutch troost (“comfort, consolation”), German Trost (“comfort, consolation”), Gothic trausti (“alliance, pact”). Doublet of tryst. More at true, tree.

More for "trust"

Synonyms

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