absence
[noun]
Synonyms:
- nonattendance, absenteeism, truancy
- lack, deficiency, need, omission, unavailability, want

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Antonyms: presence
Contrasted words: abundance, copiousness, plenty
Related Words: deficiency, drought, inadequacy, insufficiency, exigency, necessity, need, vacuum, void, nonappearance, nonattendance

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

ab‧sence S3 W2 /ˈæbsəns/ noun

1. [uncountable and countable] when you are not in the place where people expect you to be, or the time that you are away
in/during sb’s absence
Ms Leighton will be in charge during my absence (=while I am away).
absence from
Her work involved repeated absences from home.

2. [singular] the lack of something or the fact that it does not exist Antonym : presence
absence of
a complete absence of any kind of planning
In the absence of any evidence, the police had to let Myers go.

3. absence makes the heart grow fonder used to say that being away from someone makes you like them more
⇒ leave of absence at leave²(3), ⇒ conspicuous by your absence at conspicuous(3)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

absence
noun
I. fact of not being present
ADJ. lengthy, long, prolonged | brief, temporary | unauthorized
QUANT. period, spell You will not be paid for the full period of absence.
PREP. during/in sb's ~ (= while sb is not there) My father did all the cooking in my mother's absence.
~ from absence from work
PHRASES conspicuous/notable by your absence (= very obviously absent when you ought to be present) When it came to clearing up afterwards, Anne was conspicuous by her absence.
leave of absence (= permission to be absent) He asked for leave of absence from the army.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

absence
II. lack
ADJ. complete, total | virtual | conspicuous, notable a conspicuous absence of evidence
PREP. in the ~ of In the absence of stone, most houses in the area are built of wood.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

absence

a long absence
She was apprehensive about studying again after such a long absence.
a prolonged absence (=continuing for a long time)
Requests for prolonged absence during term time are strongly discouraged.
a lengthy absence
The injury may mean a lengthy absence from the team.
a brief absence
Everything seemed to have changed during his brief absence.
frequent absences (=happening often)
She disliked Stephen's frequent absences on business.
repeated absences (=happening again and again)
Repeated absences from school can lead to children falling behind.
a temporary absence
No one noticed her temporary absence.
a sudden absence
It wasn't easy to deal with Hugh's sudden absence.
an unexplained absence
Did he give a reason for his unexplained absence?
unauthorized absence (=that you do not have permission for)
With the older pupils, unauthorized absence increased.
somebody's absence from work/school
You will be entitled to sick pay in respect of any absence from work through sickness.
a period of absence
You must submit a doctor's statement to cover the period of absence beyond the seventh day.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲