absent
Americanadjective
verb (used with object)
-
absents,
present (3rd person singular)
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absented,
past participle, past
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absenting
present participle
preposition
adjective
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away or not present
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lacking; missing
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inattentive; absent-minded
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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absentsimple
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absentssimple
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have absentedperfect
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has absentedperfect
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am absentingprogressive
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are absentingprogressive
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is absentingprogressive
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have been absentingperfect progressive
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has been absentingperfect progressive
Past
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absentedsimple
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had absentedperfect
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was absentingprogressive
-
were absentingprogressive
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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:
Their voices are notably, strangely absent from your retelling of this family saga.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
It seemed certain he would be involved at the start of pre-season, when the majority of United's senior players would be absent after their World Cup exertions.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
He also said he would launch a plan next week to speed up the replacement of absent teachers and begin a broader review of school schedules.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The council voted 12-0 to put the measure on the ballot, with Councilmembers Heather Hutt, Curren Price and Monica Rodriguez absent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
The nature of this quarrel was hopelessly confused in his mind—but each of them had on several occasions broken out into a bitter tirade against the other, the absent one.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
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
Sinclair, whose prose is famously so eloquent, is here smilingly reticent, and somewhat disconcertingly absents himself before the trip is quite finished – to catch a plane.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 19, 2012
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
Reason: Under the city charter a mayor who absents himself for more than 30 days loses his office.
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 Hyacinthe Ringrose
Rosales absented herself from the archive, letting the images do the talking.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
“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
Interestingly, one of the other very senior Likud figures, Yuli Edelstein, who had been chair of the Knesset—which is a position equivalent to speaker of the House—for many years, had absented himself.
From Slate ● Mar. 28, 2023
But should Duncan, as Steinbach suggested, have chosen to turn down the Federalist Society’s invitation and voluntarily absented himself from Stanford’s campus?
From Washington Post ● Mar. 27, 2023
For years, the chemist harbored a bitter resentment of Lawrence, who had plainly dumped the task of firing him in Cooksey’s lap and absented himself from the Rad Lab while the deed was done.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Ryan Bowen, representing Membury, admitted his client had "not added any strength to the mitigation against him by absenting himself from proceedings".
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026
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
He had a blanket pulled over his head, was apparently asleep, absenting himself from the whole affair.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
