Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of truancy
Explanation
If you pretend you're sick to stay home from school and then sneak out to a baseball game, that's truancy, meaning it’s an unauthorized absence. In Middle English, truant — the root of truancy — referred to a vagabond or an idler. That meaning still holds true: if you’re accused of truancy, some may say you’re a vagabond or an idler — meaning you’re shirking your duties. Truancy can refer to any absence without permission, but it often refers to being absent from school. If you stay home from school without good reason, you might be hauled into the principal’s office to explain your truancy.
Vocabulary lists containing truancy
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Hoot
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He said banning phones had also addressed the problem of "pupils texting one another to meet in the toilets, or be out of lessons", leading to a reduction in internal truancy.
From BBC • May 21, 2025
But they said the Academy Transformation Trust, which runs the school, had taken "decisive action" to address "unacceptable standards of behaviour and internal truancy".
From BBC • May 16, 2025
It also forbade suspensions and expulsions for truancy and tardiness.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2025
I fought truancy in California for more than a decade.
From Salon • Sep. 9, 2024
“Now,” Auntie Aggie said, kissing me on each cheek, “go out there and tell that truancy man you’re ready to go to school.”
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
