absent
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- missing, away, elsewhere, gone, nonexistent, out, unavailable
- absent-minded, blank, distracted, inattentive, oblivious, preoccupied, vacant, vague
[verb]
Synonyms:
- absent oneself: stay away, keep away, play truant, withdraw

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Antonyms: present, attentive
Contrasted words: attending, hearkening, listening, considerate, thoughtful
Related Words: absorbed, forgetful, heedless

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. ab‧sent¹ /ˈæbsənt/ adjective
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: Latin, present participle of abesse, from ab- 'away' + esse 'to be']

1. not at work, school, a meeting etc, because you are sick or decide not to go Antonym : present
absent from
students who are regularly absent from school

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In everyday English, if someone is on holiday or on a business trip, people usually say that he/she is away:
He's away at the moment. He’s gone to Hawaii.
If you want to say that someone is not in a particular place, say not there:
I called in to see her but she wasn't there.
If you want to say that someone is not with you, say not here:
I'm afraid he's not here at the moment. Can I take a message?

2. if someone or something is absent, they are missing or not in the place where they are expected to be
absent parent/father
plans to force absent fathers to pay child maintenance
absent from
Local women were conspicuously absent (=obviously not there) from the meeting.

3. [only before noun] a look etc that is absent shows you are not paying attention to or thinking about what is happening ⇒ absently:
The dull, absent look on her face implied boredom.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. ab‧sent² /əbˈsent, æb- $ æb-/ verb [transitive] formal
absent yourself (from something) to not go to a place or take part in an event where people expect you to be

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

absent
adj.
VERBS be | remain
ADV. completely, entirely, quite, totally, wholly | virtually | largely | temporarily | conspicuously, markedly, notably, noticeably, strikingly Local people were conspicuously absent from the meeting.
strangely He played with an abandon that was strangely absent from his performance last week.
PREP. from He was absent from work for two weeks.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

absent
adjective
BAD: It's a pity that you were absent from the training session.
GOOD: It's a pity that you missed the training session.
GOOD: It's a pity that you weren't at the training session.

Usage Note:
be absent = not be present at something that you are officially supposed to attend: 'Her teacher wanted to know why she'd been absent.'
miss = not be present at something: 'She's missed a lot of classes this term because of illness.' 'I wouldn't miss Sandro's party for the world!' (= I really want to go to it).
be at = be present at something: 'John won't be at the meeting. He's had to fly to Rome on business.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲