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presence definition

pres·ence (prezəns)

noun

  1. the fact or condition of being present; existence, occurrence, or attendance at some place or in some thing
  2. immediate surroundings, or vicinity within close view, of a person admitted to his presence
  3. a person or thing that is present, esp. a person of high station or imposing appearance
    1. a person's bearing, personality, or appearance
    2. impressive bearing, personality, etc. characterized by poise, confidence, etc., often specif. that of a performer before an audience (stage presence)
  4. an influence or a supernatural or divine spirit felt to be present
  5. the quality of sound reproduction with reference to the degree of the apparent reality of the sound
  6. Archaic people present; an assemblage
  7. Obsolete presence chamber

Etymology: OFr < L praesentia < praesens: see present,

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:
presence Synonyms

presence

n.

  1. The fact of being present

    occupancy, occupation, residence, inhabitance, habitancy, ubiquity, ubiety; see also attendance 1.

  2. The vicinity of a person

    proximity, propinquity, nearness, closeness; see neighborhood.

  3. One's appearance and behavior

    carriage, port, demeanor, bearing; see appearance 1, behavior 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

presence Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • antibody: Enhanced proliferation of CD4+ T cells induced by dendritic cells following antigen uptake in the presence of antibody.

Converse of subject

  • characterize: FAP is a rare genetic condition, characterized by the presence of hundreds of pre-cancerous ' polyps ' in the bowel.

Converse of object

  • detect: In the study 21 practitioners detected the presence of a human hand behind a screen less than 50 % of the time.

Adjective modifier

  • adventitious: Various regulatory bodies have indicated willingness to allow low levels of GM adventitious presence in seed lots.

Noun used with modifier

  • police: A police presence was highly evident inside the event, no doubt sensing that the charged atmosphere could boil over into violence.
presence usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

presence quotes

   Every painted image of something is also about the absence of the real thing. All painting is about the presence of absence.

-Berger,John Peter

And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me carry us not up hence.

-Bible (Old Testament)

Create in me a clean heart,O God; and renew a right spirit within me.Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.Restore unto methe joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Thenwill Iteachtransgressorsthy ways; and sinnersshall be converted unto thee.

-Bible (Old Testament)

presence quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"presence." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/presence>

APA Style

presence. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/presence

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