truant
Americannoun
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a student who stays away from school without permission.
-
a person who shirks or neglects a duty.
- Synonyms:
- malingerer, loafer, layabout, shirker, idler
adjective
-
absent from school without permission.
-
neglectful of duty or responsibility; idle.
-
of, relating to, or characteristic of a person who neglects a duty, responsibility, or required attendance.
verb (used without object)
noun
adjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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truantsimple
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truantssimple
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have truantedperfect
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has truantedperfect
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am truantingprogressive
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are truantingprogressive
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is truantingprogressive
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have been truantingperfect progressive
-
has been truantingperfect progressive
Past
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truantedsimple
-
had truantedperfect
-
was truantingprogressive
-
were truantingprogressive
-
had been truantingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of truant
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English from Old French: “vagrant, beggar” from Celtic; compare Welsh truan “wretched, wretch”
Explanation
A truant is a student who is out of school without permission. If you skip school to go shopping with your friends, you are a truant. A person can be a truant, and behavior can be described as truant too, since it's both a noun and an adjective. Your teacher might call you a truant if you skip school and if you didn't show up at your donut shop job, you would also be a truant donut slinger. In fact, anyone who's unexpectedly absent can be described as truant. The Old French truant describes a beggar, especially one who lives this way by choice.
Vocabulary lists containing truant
"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
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Nobody's Home: Synonyms For "Absent"
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Rebound
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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.
In June 1530 Hans Holbein the Younger was rounded up for being a truant from the Reformed Church and its newfangled Eucharist.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
As one might have predicted, the trio of 14-year-old supposedly truant adolescents quickly overwhelmed the comic.
From Salon • Jun. 1, 2025
And man, that idea, that image of 22 public integrity lawyers locked in a room like truant children until they knuckle under, and somebody is going to file it.
From Slate • Feb. 14, 2025
As a boy he was a rebellious truant.
From BBC • Jan. 16, 2024
Marly wanted to do it herself, but after all this was the truant officer from Joe’s school,, so she didn’t say a single word.
From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen
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.
