# absent

Pronunciation: say "AB-suhnt" /ˈæb.sn̩t/

## Adjective

1. Away from a place where one would normally be; not present.
   - Simple: Not in a place where you are expected to be.
   - _Several committee members were absent when the vote was taken._
   - _He remained absent throughout the entire negotiation._
2. Not present in something; entirely lacking.
   - Simple: Completely missing, or not found at all in something.
   - _Empathy was entirely absent from his cold reply._
   - _The mineral is absent from rocks of this region._
3. Inattentive to what is happening; lost in thought and preoccupied.
   - Simple: Not paying attention because your mind is on something else.
   - _He seemed absent during the whole meeting, nodding at nothing._
   - _She gave an absent wave without ever looking up from her book._

## Verb

Pronunciation: say "ab-SENT" /æbˈsɛnt/

4. To keep oneself away from a place or gathering.
   - Simple: To stay away from a place on purpose.
   - _She chose to absent herself from the awkward family reunion._
   - _Several diplomats absented themselves from the controversial vote._

## Preposition

5. Without; in the absence of.
   - Simple: Without something, or when a certain thing is not there.
   - _Absent a clear policy, managers ended up making their own rules._
   - _Absent strong demand, the company cut production sharply._

## Noun

6. Something that is not present, especially the people who are away collectively.
   - Simple: A person or thing that is not there, especially people who are away.
   - _At the reunion, we raised a glass to the absent._
   - _The roll call counted the present and noted the absent._

## Verb

Pronunciation: say "ab-SENT" /æbˈsɛnt/

7. To keep someone away from a place. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To keep another person away from a place.
   - _The king's council sought to absent the young prince from the warring capital._
   - _Her family absented her from society after the scandal._
8. To stay away; to withdraw from a place. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To stay away from a place.
   - _Tenants who absent from the harvest forfeit their share._
   - _He absented from court and was soon forgotten._
9. To leave a place or gathering. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To leave a place.
   - _Guests began to absent the ballroom as midnight neared._
   - _He absented the chamber moments before the vote._
10. To leave out; to omit something. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To leave something out.
   - _The scribe absented the offending passage from the official copy._
   - _Careful editors absent any claim they cannot verify._

## Noun

11. A person who is not present; an absentee. *(obsolete, Scotland)*
   - Simple: A person who is not there.
   - _The parish fined each absent for missing the service._
   - _The sergeant tallied the absents after the morning muster._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–3, 5–6, 11** — It comes through Middle English and Old French from Latin absens, the present participle of absum ("to be away from"), formed from ab ("away") plus sum ("to be").
**Meanings 4, 7–10** — From Middle English absenten, from Old French absenter, from Late Latin absentāre ("keep away, be away").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/absent (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).