absentee

[ab-suh n-tee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR absentee ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who is absent, especially from work or school.

a person who absents himself or herself, as a landowner who does not live on certain property owned or a voter who is permitted to cast a ballot by mail.

RELATED WORDS

remote, absent, distant, oblivious

Origin of absentee

First recorded in 1530–40; absent + -ee

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for absentee

Contemporary Examples of absentee

The ground game in Iowa has traditionally revolved around an absentee ballot program.
Fight Over the Ground Game in Iowa Could Swing the Senate
Ben Jacobs
August 13, 2014
An absentee father is loitering about with his son and namesake, Mason Jr., at a deserted concert hall.
The Making of ‘Boyhood’: Richard Linklater’s 12-Year Journey to Create An American Masterpiece
Marlow Stern
July 10, 2014
Ware went to court claiming a number of irregularities, including issues with hundreds of absentee ballots.
Could Chris McDaniel Get A Do-Over In The Mississippi Senate Race?
Ben Jacobs
July 10, 2014
Perry said most of the absentee ballots questioned in the mayoral race had six or seven different issues.
Could Chris McDaniel Get A Do-Over In The Mississippi Senate Race?
Ben Jacobs
July 10, 2014
Some statistics–disproportionate rates of school suspension, incarceration, and absentee dads–are gloomy.
Obama’s 34 Words That Matter Most
Joshua DuBois
February 2, 2014

Historical Examples of absentee

Absentee ownership is at the bottom of the trouble in either case.
The Railroad Question
William Larrabee
A year went over their heads, and yet another, but no news of the absentee.
The Captain of the Pole-Star and Other Tales
Arthur Conan Doyle
Twenty had changed to fifteen and fifteen to ten, but there was no news of the absentee.
A Study In Scarlet
Arthur Conan Doyle
The problem of absentee landlordism was exciting Ireland in these years.
The New Nation
Frederic L. Paxson
He was invited to become an absentee at his earliest convenience.
Crooked Trails and Straight
William MacLeod Raine

British Dictionary definitions for absentee

absentee

noun

a person who is absent
(as modifier)an absentee voter

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

Word Origin and History for absentee

1530s, from absent (v.) + -ee.