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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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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.
See Examples For:
In contrast, at Locke, Green Dot agreed to manage an existing, massively struggling, eyesore campus associated with periodic brawls, truancy, single-digit academic proficiency rates, a 40% graduation rate and few college graduates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Assembly Bill 461 would end the treatment of truancy as a crime under state law.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2025
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
Roy didn’t think the truancy police would have an easy time tracking Mullet Fingers through the woods and mangroves, but the possibility made him anxious, anyway.
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
He was hospitalized three times for psychiatric issues and had repeated school suspensions, expulsions and truancies much of his life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2018
The reports detailed his history of special education classes and school truancies, as well as 26 juvenile arrests, psychiatric hospitalizations and medical diagnoses, including post-traumatic stress disorder from childhood traumas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2016
When students realized that attendance officers could not call home to check up on them, Hinsdale schools reported a sudden surge in truancies.
From Time Magazine Archive
Student identification badges will not only immediately show who belongs and who doesn't but also contain bar codes school administrators can instantly scan to show everything from previous tardiness and truancies to medical records.
From Time Magazine Archive
"I have not seen the lad at school for a week now," Brooks said, compelled at last by long truancies.
From Gilian The Dreamer His Fancy, His Love and Adventure by Neil Munro
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
