absent-minded

American  

[ab-suhnt-mahyn-did] / ˈæb səntˈmaɪn dɪd /

Or absentminded

adjective

1. 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.

   Synonyms:

   distracted, forgetful, dreamy, musing, withdrawn

   Antonyms:

   observant, heedful, alert, attentive

---

absent-minded British  

adjective

1. preoccupied; forgetful; inattentive

---

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

• absent-mindedness
  noun
• absent-mindedly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of absent-minded

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

She has a ring on a chain around her neck that she absentmindedly pulls, almost as though she’s got herself on a leash.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

"You can't run with a pram. That's the thing that really hit me," says her friend Jane Zhou with tears in her eyes, one hand absentmindedly stroking her own three-month-old baby.

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2024

Levi isn’t meek, per se, but they have the slightly nervous disposition of a bird caught in a house, absentmindedly twirling their brown curls and mostly avoiding eye contact.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2023

Colin absentmindedly yeses, but Logan presses the question.

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2023

Then considering what would happen if he absentmindedly touched his lips—then absentmindedly licked his lips—Sticky dusted them again.

From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart