absent Hear it!

absent Definition

ab·sent (ab′sənt; for v., ab sent′, əb-)

adjective

  1. not present; away
  2. not existing; lacking
  3. not attentive; absorbed in thought

Etymology: ME < OFr < L absens, prp. of abesse < ab-, away + esse, to be: see is

transitive verb

to keep (oneself) away to absent oneself from classes

in the absence of; lacking absent her testimony, our case is weak

absent Synonyms

absent

modif.

  1. Not present

    away, missing, elsewhere, gone, gone out, vanished, moved, removed, flown, not at home, not present, out, wanting, lacking, nonexistent, nonattendant, abroad, lost, overseas, out of sight, nowhere to be found, on leave, astray, on vacation, in absentia (Latin), on tour, engaged elsewhere, taken, omitted, truant, on French leave*, AWOL*, playing hooky*, split*. *

    Antonyms here*, present*, at home. *

  2. Inattentive

    dreamy, faraway, blank, vacant; see absent-minded.

absent Usage Examples

Preposition: through

  • illness: Sickness Scheme Employees are entitled to sick pay, if absent through illness.

Modifies a noun

  • father: He is an " absent father " , paying child support.
  • parent: The aim of the center is to help children maintain positive family links with absent parents.
  • pulse: She had absent foot pulses and a stocking distribution neuropathy ( could not feel a 10g filament ).
  • healing: For many years now we have been sending Free Absent Healing from all of our websites at Silvermoon.
  • colleague: A refusal to cover for absent colleagues Staff should refuse to cover for absent or sick colleagues.
  • voting: These pages outline what we do and give guidance on all aspects of Elections and Electoral Registration including special category electors and absent voting.

Used with adjective complement

  • remain: During the course of the proceedings, on 30 October, Wattiez failed to appear at court and remained absent.
  • seem: Do you think this historical context seems absent in the current debate about ' Communist guilt ' ?

Modifying Another Word

  • conspicuously: Otherwise South West wines are conspicuously absent from the shelves of our wine retailers.
  • notably: Urban centers are notably absent, whilst there is no hint of villa development.
  • noticeably: One noticeably absent feature is the lack of an AC adapter port.
  • temporarily: You can be ordinarily resident in a country from which you are temporarily absent, or two places at once.
  • strangely: The average user is strangely absent, like the laborer in eighteenth century landscape painting.
  • curiously: Curiously absent from this list is any sort of longing for those experiences that the computer cannot easily supply.

Preposition: from

  • meeting: Gambia voted with Japan but Senegal was still absent from the meeting, and Togo had not yet paid & couldn't vote.
  • school: Poor little Annie Davies was absent from school with a sore throat which led to her funeral just 8 days later!
  • debate: Women's voices are almost entirely absent from any debate.
  • work: Up to 17 million days absent from work are alcohol related.

Preposition: for

  • reason: If you are absent for any reason during this module you must re-start it in full.
absent Quotes

Les absents ont toujours tort. The absent are always in the wrong.

—Destouches, Philippe originally Ne¤  ricault

I would like to be there, were it but to see how the cat Scottish Metrical Psalms jumps.Oneknowsnothingoftheworld,if youareabsent from it so long as I have been.

—Scott, Sir Walter

The L watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.

—Bible (Old Testament)

  If to be absent were to be Away from thee; Or that when I am gone, You or I were alone; Then my Lucasta might I crave Pity from blust'ring wind, or swallowing wave.

—Lovelace, Richard

En toi je vis, o  u' que tu sois absente; En moi je meurs, o  u' que je sois pre¤  sent. Tant loin sois-tu, toujours tu es pre¤  sente; Pour pre'  s que sois, encore suis-je absent. I live in you, wherever you are, when you are absent; I die in myself wherever I am. No matter how faraway you are, you are always present; And no matter how near you are, I am always absent.

—Sce'  ve, Maurice

Since Man with that inconstancy was born, To love the absent, and the present scorn. Why do we deck, why do we dress For such a short-liv'd happiness?

—Behan, Brendan Francis

To thinkofone's absent love is verysweet; but it becomes monotonous† I doubt whether any girl would be satisfied with her lover's mind if she knew the whole of it.

—Trollope, Anthony