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Trust vs Confidence vs Reliance vs Dependence vs Faith

Trustconfidencereliancedependencefaith can all mean the fact of feeling sure or the state of mind of one who feels sure that a person or thing will not fail him.

Trust implies an absolute and assured resting on something or someone; it often suggests a basis upon other grounds than experience or sensible proofs. It is the most frequent term in religious use, but it occurs also in secular use, especially when an intimate knowledge of or a deep affection for someone is implied or when there has been no cause for changing an instinctive or intuitive judgment respecting a person’s or thing’s reliability.

Confidence need not imply such definite grounds for one’s assurances as the support of experience or of convincing evidence; when it does, it carries less suggestion of emotional factors than trust and a stronger implication of an assurance based upon the evidence of one’s senses. When it does not imply such grounds, it usually suggests less reliable grounds for that feeling than does trust .

Reliance implies not only an attitude or feeling but also an objective expression of it in act or action.

Dependence differs from reliance chiefly in suggesting greater subordination of self.

Faith (see also BELIEF 1 ) implies confidence, but it often suggests a degree of credulity or an unquestioning acceptance of something capable of being objectively tested and proved or disproved; it is often used when the person or thing in which one has faith is open to question or suspicion.