conspicuous by its absence
Also, conspicuous by one's absence. Glaringly obvious by the fact of not being there. For example, One agenda item concerning publicity is conspicuous by its absence, or The bride's father was conspicuous by his absence. The idea is ancient; it was expressed by the Roman writer Tacitus, concerning the absence of Junia's brother and husband at her funeral procession. [Mid-1800s]
RELATED CONTENT
Its vs. It’sOne confusing pair of words to write out is its and it’s. Its is a possessive form of it, meaning belonging to it. It’s is a contraction of the words it is or it has. To figure out which is correct for your sentence, just swap in “it is” and then “it has“. If the sentence makes sense with either of those substitutions, use it’s. If the resulting …
Nearby words
conspectus, consperg., conspicuity, conspicuity tape, conspicuous, conspicuous by its absence, conspicuous consumption, conspiracist, conspiracy, conspiracy of silence, conspiracy theory
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.