Trusting

How to spell trusting

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce trusting

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does trusting mean?

1. adjectiveInclined to believe in the honesty or good intentions of others, often without suspicion.
2. verbThe present participle of trust: placing confidence in a person or thing.

Trusting in a sentence

• adjective

  She was too trusting of the salesman and signed without reading the contract.

• verb

  He kept trusting the old map even after it led him down the wrong road.

• adjective

  His trusting nature made him an easy target for online scams.

• verb

  They are trusting the contractor to finish the work on time.

Where does trusting come from?

Language of origin: Old Norse

The base word trust came into English in the 1200s from Old Norse traust, which meant confidence, firmness, or protection, and it is closely tied to a wider Germanic family of words built on a root meaning strong or firm; the German word Trost, meaning comfort or consolation, springs from the same source. The underlying idea was that relying on someone or something firm gives you support, so to trust was originally to lean on a thing felt to be solid. The adjective and participle form trusting simply adds the familiar -ing ending to describe a person who readily places that confidence in others. Because the word is plain and native in feel, its spelling has stayed very regular, with no silent letters and a single t at each point; the only mild trap is remembering that the s and t sit together (trust) before the ending is attached. The same root also gives us trustee, trustworthy, and the legal trust that holds money or property for someone else.

How the word is built

• trust (from Old Norse traust: confidence, support)
• -ing (adjective/participle suffix)