DEFINITIONS
The
2019 WORD
OF THE YEAR is...

absent-minded

or ab·sent·mind·ed

[ ab-suhnt-mahyn-did ]
/ ˈæb səntˈmaɪn dɪd /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR absent-minded ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

so lost in thought that one does not realize what one is doing, what is happening, etc.; preoccupied to the extent of being unaware of one's immediate surroundings.

Words related to absent-minded

absent, absorbed, abstracted, careless, distracted, dreaming, dreamy, engrossed, faraway, forgetful, heedless, inattentive, lost, oblivious, preoccupied, remote, removed, scatterbrained, surroundings, unconscious

Words nearby absent-minded

absence, absence makes the heart grow fonder, absence seizure, absent, absent without leave, absent-minded, absente reo, absentee, absentee ballot, absentee landlord, absentee vote

Origin of absent-minded

First recorded in 1850–55

OTHER WORDS FROM absent-minded

ab·sent-mind·ed·ly, adverbab·sent-mind·ed·ness, noun

synonym study for absent-minded

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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for absent-minded

British Dictionary definitions for absent-minded

absent-minded

adjective

preoccupied; forgetful; inattentive

Derived forms of absent-minded

absent-mindedly, adverbabsent-mindedness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012