What does trustingness mean?
Trustingness is the noun form of “trusting” and denotes the condition or quality of being willing to place confidence in other people. It can describe a generous, open disposition that assumes others are sincere and dependable, but in ordinary use it frequently carries a more critical implication: someone may be too ready to believe flattering promises or overlook signs of deception. The word is especially common in descriptions of children, close relationships, and behavior affected by innocence. It differs from trustworthiness, which evaluates how reliable a person or thing is, rather than how readily another person relies on it. Trustingness is also less general than trust itself, which can refer both to a confident belief and to the broader institution of confidence on which social and legal relationships depend. Although uncommon in everyday conversation, the noun is useful when discussing the balance between openness and credulity.
nounThe quality or state of being trusting; a readiness to place confidence in others. It can suggest openness and innocence, but often carries the implication of being overly credulous.
- The quality or state of being trusting, especially when characterized by openness, innocence, or credulity.
"Her trustingness allowed strangers to confide in her almost immediately."
"The child's trustingness made it difficult for relatives to tell him that his new teacher was unkind."
"She spoke with such trustingness that I nearly overlooked the warning in her tone."
The plural is grammatically standard but exceptionally uncommon.
"The accounts explored the contrasting trustingnesses of the two sisters."
Trustingness captures the rare quality of being willing to believe the best in people—sometimes a virtue, sometimes a vulnerability.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does trustingness come from?
“Trustingness” was formed within English by combining the adjective “trusting” with the noun-forming suffix “-ness.” “Trusting” ultimately derives from “trust,” a Middle English word borrowed from Old Norse “traust,” meaning confidence or reliance, which is related to the same Proto-Germanic root found in cognates across Germanic languages. The development of “-ness” allowed the adjective's quality to be expressed as an abstract noun.
How trustingness is actually used
This is an uncommon, somewhat literary noun. Its usual connotations are innocence or credulity, and it is more often used to characterize a person, relationship, or attitude than objects.
Easily confused with trustingness
Trustingness describes a willingness to believe in or rely on others, whereas trustworthiness describes the reliability of a person or thing.