truant

[ troo-uhnt ]

/ ˈtru ənt /

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See synonyms for truant on Thesaurus.com

noun

a student who stays away from school without permission.

a person who shirks or neglects his or her duty.

adjective

absent from school without permission.

neglectful of duty or responsibility; idle.

of, relating to, or characteristic of a truant.

verb (used without object)

to be truant.

OTHER WORDS FOR truant

2 idler, shirker, layabout, loafer, malingerer.

See synonyms for truant on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of truant

1250–1300; Middle English <Old French: vagrant, beggar <Celtic; compare Welsh truan wretched, wretch

OTHER WORDS FROM truant

tru·ant·ly, adverbnon·tru·ant, noun, adjectiveun·tru·ant, adjective

Words nearby truant

troy weight, trp, trs, Trst, truancy, truant, truant officer, truantry, Trubetzkoy, truce, Truchas Peaks

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use truant in a sentence

She opened it and found a letter demanding to know why Landon had been truant from his online classes during the fall semester.
The Lost Year: What the Pandemic Cost Teenagers|by Alec MacGillis, photography by Celeste Sloman|March 8, 2021|ProPublica
However, truant absentee ballots still remained a problem in Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.
We’ve Had 56 Statewide Elections During The Pandemic. Here’s What We Learned From Them.|Nathaniel Rakich (nathaniel.rakich@fivethirtyeight.com)|October 1, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
In Florida, Illinois and New York, truant poll workers caused some polling places to open late.
There Have Been 38 Statewide Elections During The Pandemic. Here’s How They Went.|Nathaniel Rakich (nathaniel.rakich@fivethirtyeight.com)|August 3, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Behind the fantasy dashboard sat Wood, conducting a violent campaign on snares and cymbals, and admiring the ultimate truant.
James Wood Gets Personal|Jimmy So|December 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST

His schooling began at the age of nine, but the boy played truant so frequently that he was sent to boarding-school in Avignon.
Frdric Mistral|Charles Alfred Downer
It is only to transact some higher business that even Apollo dare play the truant from Admetus.
The Pocket R.L.S.|Robert Louis Stevenson
As a boy at the Grammar School of his native town, it is to be feared he loved to play truant.
East Anglia|J. Ewing Ritchie
Haply her truant tresses mock Some coronal of shapelier block, To wit, the bounding billy-cock.
The Book of Humorous Verse|Various
At that the truant driver appeared, coming at a trot from down the street.
From Place to Place|Irvin S. Cobb

British Dictionary definitions for truant

truant

/ (ˈtruːənt) /

noun

a person who is absent without leave, esp from school

adjective

being or relating to a truant

verb

(intr) to play truant

Derived forms of truant

truancy, noun

Word Origin for truant

C13: from Old French: vagabond, probably of Celtic origin; compare Welsh truan miserable, Old Irish trōg wretched

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

truant

OTHER WORDS FOR truant

Origin of truant

OTHER WORDS FROM truant

Words nearby truant

Words related to truant

How to use truant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for truant

Derived forms of truant

Word Origin for truant