absent
Americanadjective
verb (used with object)
preposition
adjective
-
away or not present
-
lacking; missing
-
inattentive; absent-minded
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
absentsimple
-
absentssimple
-
have absentedperfect
-
has absentedperfect
-
am absentingprogressive
-
are absentingprogressive
-
is absentingprogressive
-
have been absentingperfect progressive
-
has been absentingperfect progressive
Past
-
absentedsimple
-
had absentedperfect
-
was absentingprogressive
-
were absentingprogressive
-
had been absentingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of absent
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin absent-, stem of absēns “being away,” present participle of abesse “to be away,” from ab- ab- + esse “to be”
Explanation
Absent means not there. If you absent yourself from class, you're marked as absent. If you have an absent parent, it means they don't live with you or take part in your care. Absent can also describe a state of mind, meaning "not all there" or "lost in thought." If you are absent from class on a test day, you will have to explain your absence, unless your teacher is so absent minded she forgets and just gives you an A.
Vocabulary lists containing absent
Education and Academics, List 2
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Lacking
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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.
See Examples For:
His son, Mojtaba, the new supreme leader, was absent from the commemorations, fearing assassination himself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
If those nucleation sites are absent, water can remain liquid even after it has been cooled below its normal freezing point.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 8, 2026
In her apartment in the northern Italian city of Turin, Olga longs for her absent husband, who has moved out and left her with their two young children.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Now there are only five pupils - and on the day we visit they, and the only remaining teacher, are absent.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Reflexively, his hands reach for his absent guns.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
In the mode of Katherine Boo and Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, Flock absents herself from the narrative, allowing us to enter the lives of her subjects and witness moments of almost unbearable intimacy.
From New York Times ● Feb. 13, 2018
I don’t think there is much of a risk of default in the very near term but clearly if it absents official financing then it becomes more of a concern.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 4, 2016
Yet even Rose notably absents himself from the stage as his sidemen widdle their way through their countless between-song solos.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 14, 2010
Eddie, her husband, decides that after all Patricia likes the surgeon best; to facilitate her leaving him, he absents himself from home.
From Time Magazine Archive
When he wilfully deserts his wife and absents himself without a reasonable cause for the space of two years.
From Marriage and Divorce Laws of the World by Ringrose, Hyacinthe
“The evidence demonstrates that he did not control Oracle, and that he absented himself from the acquisition of NetSuite,” the judge wrote.
From Seattle Times ● May 12, 2023
He absented himself from the traditional marketing of his art, but supported himself in part by selling a trove of Constantin Brancusi sculptures he had acquired.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 19, 2019
Jimmy Fallon returned to his regular desk at NBC's Tonight Show, having absented himself a week to mourn his beloved mother Gloria.
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2017
The U.N. secretary general seated himself between Mr. Putin and Mr. Obama at a lunch, but absented himself for some of the toasts.
From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2015
This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half.
From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell
"He is deliberately manipulating the court and voluntarily absenting himself."
From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2025
He focused on personal priorities like criminal justice reform, and he jousted with rivals in a factionalized West Wing while absenting himself at key moments, to the frustration of colleagues.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 8, 2022
If you can convince him, then he will come to realize that your absenting yourself truly is the easiest solution.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 2, 2022
Rather, when Fleabag is talking to the audience, she is noticeably absenting herself from her real life.
From Slate ● May 16, 2019
Finding out that it wasn’t, that in fact the last entries were dated, she kept count of the number of days I was absenting myself from school.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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.
