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Distrust
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<p>Distrust is a formal way of not <a href="/facts/Trust_(emotion)/bCpS9Yxg">trusting</a> any one party too much in a situation of grave <a href="/facts/Risk/tbBEDA0V">risk</a> or deep <a href="/facts/Doubt/EdL4LPcG">doubt</a>. It is commonly expressed in <a href="/facts/Civics/4A6tEllo">civics</a> as a division or balance of powers, or in politics as means of validating <a href="/facts/Treaty/KCfhDfDV">treaty</a> terms. Systems based on distrust simply divide the <a href="/facts/Moral_responsibility/UcdhqHBv">responsibility</a> so that <a href="/facts/Checks_and_balances/erlL7IMq">checks and balances</a> can operate. The phrase "<a href="/facts/Trust,_but_verify/hsmbzcTW">trust, but verify</a>" refers specifically to distrust. </p>