absent-minded
Americanadjective
adjective
Synonym Usage
Absent-minded, abstracted, oblivious all mean inattentive to immediate surroundings. Absent-minded suggests an unintentional wandering of the mind from the present: an absent-minded committee member. Abstracted implies that the mind has been drawn away from the immediate present by reflection upon some engrossing subject: an abstracted air. Oblivious implies absorption in some thought that causes one to be completely forgetful of or unaware of one's surroundings: oblivious of danger.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of absent-minded
First recorded in 1850–55
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.
Smith conformed to the type of the absent-minded professor, but he was worldly enough to unmask the East India Co., a hybrid sovereign ruler and monopolistic business enterprise, as a misgoverned money pit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Many women talk about having "pregnancy brain" or "baby brain", to describe feeling forgetful, absent-minded or having brain fog.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2024
Shoot, today he was just in there and we didn’t have a good practice on offense, and some of the guys I think were a little bit absent-minded on practice.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 15, 2023
Musgrove and catcher Austin Nola were among five absent-minded Padres who mistakenly headed toward the dugout with two outs.
From Washington Times ● May 14, 2023
Domingo Montoya was funny-looking and crotchety and impatient and absent-minded and never smiled.
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
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.
