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absent

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absent¹

  • /ˈæb.sn̩t/ UK
  • /ˈæb.sn̩t/ US

Where it comes from

From Middle English absent, from Middle French absent, from Old French ausent, and their source, Latin absens, present participle of absum (“to be away from”), from ab (“away”) + sum (“to be”).

adjective absenter · absentest · abs.

  1. not comparable Being away from a place; withdrawn from a place; existing but not present; (sometimes) missing. Owing to his own illness and then his family's, Ramzi has often been absent from class this month. We will help him catch up with his studies.

    Opposite: present

  2. not comparable Not existing. The body part was rudimentary or absent in 1% of specimens.

    Opposite: present, existing, extant

  3. comparable Inattentive to what is passing; absent-minded; preoccupied. Tom was there, but he seemed absent and withdrawn. Normally he is quite present [= engaged] during a meeting.

    Opposite: present

noun absents · abs.

  1. with definite article Something absent, especially absent people collectively; those who were or are not there. The Applause he met with exceeds all belief of the Absent.
  2. Scotland, obsolete An absentee; a person who is not there.

preposition abs.

  1. In the absence of; without; except. Absent taxes modern governments cannot function.

absent²

  • /æbˈsɛnt/ UK
  • /æbˈsɛnt/ US

Rhymes with -ɛnt

Where it comes from

From Middle English absenten, from Old French absenter, from Late Latin absentāre (“keep away, be away”).

verb absents · absenting · absented · abs.

  1. reflexive To keep (oneself) away. Most of the men are retired, jobless, or have otherwise temporarily absented themselves from the workplace.
  2. archaic, transitive To keep (someone) away. Go; for thy stay, not free, absents thee more;
  3. intransitive, obsolete Stay away; withdraw. The iron rule of the plantation, always passionately and violently enforced in that neighborhood, makes flogging the penalty of failing to be in the field before sunrise in the morning, unless special permission be given to the absenting slave.
  4. rare, transitive Leave.
  5. rare, transitive To omit. When we realize that the digitalisation of the image involves - by reducing and even absenting - the role of 'the physical', the 'sensuous' (by reducing and eventually absenting the indexical aspects of the image) […]

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: missing, absentminded, inattentive, abstracted, lacking, nonexistent, away, truant, devoid, departed, awol, gone, remove, scatty, wanting, absence

Translations

Every language

adj being away from a place

Españolausente, absente (disused)
한국어없는 eomneun, 결석하는 gyeolseokhaneun
日本語いない inai, 欠席する kesseki suru
中文缺席 quēxí
हिन्दीअनुपस्थित anupasthit, ग़ैरहाज़िर ġairhāzir
Portuguêsausente
Françaisabsent
Deutschabwesend
Italianoassente
Ελληνικάαπών apón
Românăabsent, neprezent
Русскийотсу́тствующий otsútstvujuščij, отсу́тствовать otsútstvovatʹ
Tiếng Việtvắng mặt
العربيةغَائِب ḡāʔib

adj not existing

Españolausente, absente (disused)
日本語無い nai, 持たない motanai
Portuguêsausente, inexistente
Françaisabsent
Italianoassente
Ελληνικάανύπαρκτος anýparktos
Românăabsent, inexistent, neexistent
Русскийнесуществу́ющий nesuščestvújuščij

adj inattentive

Españolausente, distraído, absente (disused)
中文缺席 quēxí
Portuguêsausente
Françaisabsent
Deutschgeistig abwesend
Italianoassente
Ελληνικάαφηρημένος afiriménos
Românăneatent, distrat, absent
Русскийневнима́тельный nevnimátelʹnyj, отсу́тствующий otsútstvujuščij
Tiếng Việtlơ đãng
العربيةشارِد šārid

prep without

Portuguêsna ausência de

verb to withhold from being present

Españolausentarse
Portuguêsausentar
Deutschfehlen, fernbleiben
Ελληνικάαπουσιάζω apousiázo

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Cite this
MLA

"absent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/absent. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

absent. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/absent

Chicago

"absent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/absent.

BibTeX
@misc{absent_2026,
  title = {absent},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/absent},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}