1 ab·sent
Pronounced:
/ˈæbsənt/
Function:
adjectiveMeaning:
1 : not present at a usual or expected place ▪ They were talking about absent friends. [=friends who were not there] ▪ an absent father who is not home most of the time ▪ The soldier was absent without leave. [=AWOL; absent without having permission to be absent] ▪ Most of the executives attended the meeting, but the company president was conspicuously absent. [=conspicuous by his absence; it was very noticeable that the company president was not there] —often + from ▪ She was absent from work/school on three occasions.
2 : not present at all : not existing ▪ a gene that occurs in mammals but that is absent in birds ▪ a landscape in which vegetation is almost entirely absent —sometimes + from ▪ Vegetation is almost entirely absent from the landscape.
3 always used before a noun : showing that a person is thinking about something else : showing a lack of attention to what is happening or being said ▪ He made an absent reply to her question as he continued to watch the TV. ▪ There was an absent [=distracted] look on her face.
2 : not present at all : not existing ▪ a gene that occurs in mammals but that is absent in birds ▪ a landscape in which vegetation is almost entirely absent —sometimes + from ▪ Vegetation is almost entirely absent from the landscape.
3 always used before a noun : showing that a person is thinking about something else : showing a lack of attention to what is happening or being said ▪ He made an absent reply to her question as he continued to watch the TV. ▪ There was an absent [=distracted] look on her face.
—ab·sent·ly adverb ▪ He replied absently to her question.