truant
Americannoun
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a student who stays away from school without permission.
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a person who shirks or neglects a duty.
- Synonyms:
- malingerer, loafer, layabout, shirker, idler
adjective
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absent from school without permission.
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neglectful of duty or responsibility; idle.
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of, relating to, or characteristic of a person who neglects a duty, responsibility, or required attendance.
verb (used without object)
noun
adjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of truant
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English from Old French: “vagrant, beggar” from Celtic; compare Welsh truan “wretched, wretch”
Explanation
A truant is a student who is out of school without permission. If you skip school to go shopping with your friends, you are a truant. A person can be a truant, and behavior can be described as truant too, since it's both a noun and an adjective. Your teacher might call you a truant if you skip school and if you didn't show up at your donut shop job, you would also be a truant donut slinger. In fact, anyone who's unexpectedly absent can be described as truant. The Old French truant describes a beggar, especially one who lives this way by choice.
Vocabulary lists containing truant
"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
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Nobody's Home: Synonyms For "Absent"
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Rebound
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Who could forget the SS23 show, “For the Truant and the Fluent,” in which designer and L.A. resident Tommy Bogo created a classroom setting for his runway?
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2024
“I wasn’t sure it was possible,” said Hornor, an agility trainer from Ellicott City, Maryland, who won the agility contest last year with a border collie named Truant.
From Seattle Times • May 14, 2024
“Reginald” is based on books by Johnny B. Truant known as the Fat Vampire novels, and its hero is doubly alienated: from humans, and from his sleek fellow vampires.
From New York Times • Oct. 7, 2022
Titled “For the Truant & the Fluent,” the runway show will happen at LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts on Sept. 11.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 2, 2022
Truant officers and their sniffer dogs'd be put on my trail.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
