absent

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   not in a place where you are expected to be

   Three students were absent from class today.

2. 2
   adj

   not existing in a particular situation or thing

   Any sense of humour was completely absent from his speech.

3. 3
   adj

   not paying attention because you are thinking about something else

   He gave an absent nod, his mind clearly elsewhere.

Common collocations

• absent father Adjective + noun
• strikingly absent Adverb + adjective
• conspicuously absent Adverb + adjective

From Middle English absent, from Middle French absent, from Old French ausent, and their source, Latin absens, present participle of absum (“to be away from”), from ab (“away”) + sum (“to be”).

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images