German

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Etymology

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Vertrauen (trust) +‎ -s- +‎ -würdig (-worthy)

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯ənsˌvʏʁdɪç/ (standard)
  • Audio:(file)
  • IPA(key): /-ˌvʏʁdɪk/ (common form in southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland)
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: ver‧trau‧ens‧wür‧dig

Adjective

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vertrauenswürdig (strong nominative masculine singular vertrauenswürdiger, comparative vertrauenswürdiger, superlative am vertrauenswürdigsten)

  1. trustworthy

Usage notes

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  • As a tendency, vertrauenswürdig is associated with honest and moral behaviour, while the near-synonym zuverlässig can also refer to other qualities. Thus, ein vertrauenswürdiger Angestellter is an employee who would never steal from the company or divulge internal matters. Ein zuverlässiger Angestellter probably would not either, but the intended meaning may be more that he can be trusted with difficult tasks.

Declension

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Derived terms

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See also

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Further reading

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  NODES
see 2