absent

[adjective, preposition ab-suhnt; verb ab-sent, ab-suhnt]

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adjective

not in a certain place at a given time; away, missing (opposed to present): absent from class.

lacking; nonexistent: Revenge is absent from his mind.

not attentive; preoccupied; absent-minded: an absent look on his face.

verb (used with object)

to take or keep (oneself) away: to absent oneself from a meeting.

preposition

in the absence of; without: Absent some catastrophe, stock-market prices should soon improve.

Origin of absent

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin absent- (stem of absēns, present participle of abesse to be away (ab- ab- + -s- be (see is) + -ent- -ent))

Related formsab·sen·ta·tion

[ab-suhn-tey-shuhn] /ˌæb sənˈteɪ ʃən/, nounab·sent·er, nounab·sent·ness, nounnon·ab·sen·ta·tion, noun

Synonyms for absent

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR absent ON THESAURUS.COM

1. out, off.

Antonyms for absent

1. present.

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

Related Words for absents

quit, vacate, retire, evacuate, go, exit, remove, withdraw, escape, abandon, disappear, absent, abdicate, migrate, troop, secede, start, part, decamp, split

Examples from the Web for absents

Historical Examples of absents

How I grieve at whatever may be the cause which absents him from his family!
The Diary and Letters of Madame D'Arblay, Vol. 1 (of 3)
Fanny Burney
Any scholar who absents himself at other times, even by leave, or breaks his leave, shall lose the time.
The Story of the "Britannia"
E. P. Statham
He absents himself more and more from Beethovens lodgings and spends less and less time at his own.
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume III (of 3)
Alexander Wheelock Thayer
O woman, best are all things as the will of God ordains them; therefore go; for thy stay, not free, absents thee more.
The Mormon Prophet and His Harem
C.V. Waite
The passenger who absents himself from the concert which all other passengers attend, is both impolite and ill-bred.
Book of Etiquette, Volume 2
Lillian Eichler Watson

British Dictionary definitions for absents

absent

adjective (ˈæbsənt)

away or not present

lacking; missing

inattentive; absent-minded

verb (æbˈsɛnt)

(tr) to remove (oneself) or keep away

Derived Formsabsenter, noun

Word Origin for absent

C14: from Latin absent-, stem of absēns, present participle of abesse to be away

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 absents

absent

"to keep away" (from), c.1400, from Middle French absenter, from Late Latin absentare "cause to be away," from Latin absentem (see absent (adj.)). Related: Absented; absenting.

absent

prep.

"in the absence of," 1944, principally from U.S. legal use, from absent (v.).

absent

adj.

late 14c., from Middle French absent (Old French ausent), from Latin absentem (nominative absens), present participle of abesse "be away from, be absent" (see absence). Related: Absently; absentness.