conspicuous by its absence

Idioms  

1. 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]

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Example Sentences

While the Russian delegation will be conspicuous by its absence, organisers hailed a record turnout in terms of the number and diversity of participants, with expectations of a "high-level" Chinese presence.

From Reuters • Jan. 10, 2023

The Federal Reserve has tried to smooth the economic cycle, but the “great moderation,” a term popularized in 2004 by Ben S. Bernanke, the former Fed chairman, is conspicuous by its absence.

From New York Times • Jun. 16, 2022

Fultz, 52, is a former architect who started smoking meats out of a yearning for Central Texas barbecue, a style conspicuous by its absence in the pork-heavy environs of Central Virginia.

From Washington Post • Sep. 25, 2018

The military, meanwhile, was conspicuous by its absence at the school.

From The Guardian • Mar. 8, 2018

The fact is, that the whole of the Faubourg St.-Germain was conspicuous by its absence from the Tuileries in those days, and that the English were in rather too great a majority.

From An Englishman in Paris Notes and Recollections by Albert D.