Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The state of being away.
- n. The time during which one is away.
- n. Lack; want: an absence of leadership.
- n. The state of being absent-minded; inattentiveness: absence of mind.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The state of being absent; the state of being away or not present: as, speak no ill of one in his absence.
- n. The period of being away or absent: as, an absence of several weeks or years.
- n. The state of being wanting; non-existence at the place and time spoken of; want; lack: as, the absence of evidence.
- n. Absent-mindedness; inattention to things present: a shortened form of absence of mind.
Wiktionary
- n. fencing Lack of contact between blades.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A state of being absent or withdrawn from a place or from companionship; -- opposed to
presence . - n. Want; destitution; withdrawal.
- n. Inattention to things present; abstraction (of mind).
WordNet 3.0
- n. failure to be present
- n. the state of being absent
- n. the time interval during which something or somebody is away
- n. the occurrence of an abrupt, transient loss or impairment of consciousness (which is not subsequently remembered), sometimes with light twitching, fluttering eyelids, etc.; common in petit mal epilepsy
Etymologies
- From Middle English absence, from Old French absence, ausence, from Latin absentia, from absēns ("absent"), present active participle of absum ("I am away or absent"), from ab ("from, away from") + sum ("I am"). (Wiktionary)
Examples
“In woman very often voluptuous pleasure is entirely lacking; certainly such absence is far commoner in women than in men -- a condition of affairs which must on no account be confused with _absence of the sexual impulse_.”
“He did note increased international impatience with what he termed the "absence" of a peace process.”
“The reports have faulted Rome for sending confusing messages to the Irish church about norms to be followed and, in general, for what it called the absence of a coherent set of canon laws and rules to apply in cases of abuse.”
“Now, folks, this is what you call the absence of leadership.”
Rush Limbaugh and Mickey Kaus: Is anybody listening to Warren Buffett anymore?
“Now, the fact that women are scarcely to be found exploring such projects says something about women; their absence is a significant absence, not an oversight on your part.”
Writing and Failure (Part 2) : Christian Bök : Harriet the Blog : The Poetry Foundation
“But her absence is a recurring theme, as the NRSC points out in this document.”
“Baker battled personal problems for most of last season, consequently causing his long-term absence from the team.”
“My husband and I aren't often apart, and never for more than 48 hours (I go with him if he has to travel for a while), so writing letters in his absence is a little hard.”
“Hawass said he was no longer able to protect the country's antiquities because of what he called the absence of police protection and because he was the victim of a campaign against him by senior officials at his ministry.”
“The reports have faulted the Vatican for sending confusing messages to the Irish church about norms to be followed and, in general, for what it called the absence of a coherent set of canon laws and rules to apply in cases of abuse.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘absence’.
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EU Buzz - Lisbon Treaty
All words of the Lisbon Treaty
(Persons' names, foreign and grammatical words have been eliminated, MWEs have been split up into individual words. Capitalization has been retained if r...conferral, stateless, person, voting, right, subsidiarity, Latvia, Malta, Slovenia, Lithuania, Finland, Estonia and 2614 more...
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Clear and simple as the truth
Classic style
and unessential, styles., or other, doubts, defined, writing, torture, decision, ambiguities, acknowledge, simplicity, settled and 13 more...
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In our own Nighttime
Words that appropriately fit my dreaming...
or when I'm not in a state of "wakefulness."wake, perversity, obscurity, opaque, uneven, absence, recall, recoil, maimeries, embittered, yashmak, veiled and 2 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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5000 FREE SAT Words
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 229 more...
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What's That Pokémon Name?
Words used to create the names of Pokémon, which are usually portmanteaux.
bulb, dinosaur, ivy, venus, char, salamander, squirt, turtle, blast, tortoise, water, caterpillar and 525 more...
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National Library Agenda Summit
nla2006, summit, agenda, library, ala, diversity, education, learning, continuous, scan, environmental, plan and 646 more...
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The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
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Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
a, abandon, ability, able, abortion, about, above, abroad, absence, absolute, absolutely, absorb and 4334 more...
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junemoonchild's Favorite Words
Aubrey, astrology, Cancer, Taurus, dybbuk, enchantress, love, mystery, mysteriarch, spirit, melancholy, disintegration and 129 more...
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Legislationie: The Habeas Corpus Act ...
An act for the better securing the liberty of the subject, and for prevention of imprisonments beyond the seas.
WHEREAS great delays have been used by sheriffs, gaolers and other offi...of the peace, the hand and seal of, signed and sealed, jurisdiction, hath, order, recognizances, cognizable, properly, city, county, gaol-delivery and 120 more...
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tragedy of the commons
insomnia, arabesque, carousal, lucifer, riot, submerge, initiate, indigo, existence, magenta, opus, sleeplessness and 145 more...
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lauren_inretrospective's list
words I adore....
ethereal, luminiscent, etiquette, surreal, plumage, feathery, vintage, jubilee, rouge, satin, fathom, height and 101 more...
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Hilary's List
Just a list of words I like
wellspring, mystery, wonderment, intrinsic, artisan, enchantment, magic, transience, incomplete, impermanent, imperfect, resonance and 163 more...
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frequent toefl
Words that I do not know or unsure for toefl
appurtenances, aptitude, arbitrary, arboretum, argot, arrears, avocation, avuncular, badger, bait, warden, bane and 428 more...
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precious
coin, waiflike, zoo, captain, difference, diet, automagical, olive, noanoa, dusk, cookie, monday and 221 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for absence.
frindley Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Get Absence!
(Courtesy poet Steve Turner) Sep 27, 2008