absent
preposition
- unless
verb
- to keep oneself away
- (cause to) not be present
adjective
- not be present, be missing
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈæb.sn̩t/ / /æbˈsɛnt/
adj
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Italic *ap Latin abder. Latin ab- Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- Proto-Indo-European *bʰúHt Proto-Italic *ezom~*som Old Latin 𐌄𐌔𐌏𐌌 (esom) Old Latin esum Latin sum Latin absum Latin absēnsder. Old French ausentder. Middle French absentbor. ▲ Latin absēnsbor. Middle English absent English absent 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”).
- Being away from a place; withdrawn from a place; existing but not present; (sometimes) missing.
“Owing to his own illness and then his family's, Ramzi has often been absent from class this month. We will help him catch up with his studies.”
“When they were able to return to the clinic some months later, certain pieces of equipment were absent.”
- Not existing.
“The body part was rudimentary or absent in 1% of specimens.”
“Empathy seemed to be absent from the messages.”
- Inattentive to what is passing; absent-minded; preoccupied.
“Tom was there, but he seemed absent and withdrawn. Normally he is quite present [= engaged] during a meeting.”
“What is commonly called an absent man is commonly either a very weak or a very affected man.”
noun
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Italic *ap Latin abder. Latin ab- Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- Proto-Indo-European *bʰúHt Proto-Italic *ezom~*som Old Latin 𐌄𐌔𐌏𐌌 (esom) Old Latin esum Latin sum Latin absum Latin absēnsder. Old French ausentder. Middle French absentbor. ▲ Latin absēnsbor. Middle English absent English absent 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”).
- Something absent, especially absent people collectively; those who were or are not there.
“The Applause he met with exceeds all belief of the Absent.”
“That very sense of longing, of yearning for the absent, which 'nostalgia' conveys to us now.”
- An absentee; a person who is not there.
prep
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Italic *ap Latin abder. Latin ab- Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- Proto-Indo-European *bʰúHt Proto-Italic *ezom~*som Old Latin 𐌄𐌔𐌏𐌌 (esom) Old Latin esum Latin sum Latin absum Latin absēnsder. Old French ausentder. Middle French absentbor. ▲ Latin absēnsbor. Middle English absent English absent 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”).
- In the absence of; without; except.
“Absent taxes modern governments cannot function.”
“If the accused refuse upon demand to pay money or deliver property (absent any excuse or excusing circumstance) which came into his hands as a bailee, such refusal might well constitute some evidence of conversion, with the requisite fraudulent intent required by the statute.”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English absenten, from Old French absenter, from Late Latin absentāre (“keep away, be away”).
- To keep (oneself) away.
“Most of the men are retired, jobless, or have otherwise temporarily absented themselves from the workplace.”
“If after due summons any member absents himself, he is to be fined.”
- To keep (someone) away.
“Go; for thy stay, not free, absents thee more;”
- Stay away; withdraw.
“The iron rule of the plantation, always passionately and violently enforced in that neighborhood, makes flogging the penalty of failing to be in the field before sunrise in the morning, unless special permission be given to the absenting slave.”
- Leave.
- To omit.
“When we realize that the digitalisation of the image involves - by reducing and even absenting - the role of 'the physical', the 'sensuous' (by reducing and eventually absenting the indexical aspects of the image) […]”
“Such sequences draw attention to the affective appeals that environmental documentary typically makes, precisely by absenting those appeals.”