absence

noun

A state of being away or withdrawn from a place or from companionship

Failure to be present where one is expected, wanted, or needed; nonattendance; deficiency.

The period of someone being away.

Lack; deficiency; non-existence.

Inattention to things present; abstraction (of mind).

(medicine) Temporary loss or disruption of consciousness, with sudden onset and recovery, and common in epilepsy.

(fencing) Lack of contact between blades.

Roots

abab- · Latin · away from esse-sen · Latin · be

Synonyms for absence

nonattendancen nonappearancen nonoccurrencen absenteeismn lackn paucityn dearthn omissionn disappearancen insufficiencyn nonexistencen shortagen inadequacyn deficiencyn departuren

Synonyms & related words for absence

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of absence — including nonattendance, nonappearance, nonoccurrence, absenteeism, lack, paucity. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to absence

Explore words related to absence — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include absent, desiderate, absentee, presence, vigorless, ubiety, unavailability, hiatus. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for absence

Common synonyms for absence include nonattendance, nonappearance, nonoccurrence, absenteeism, lack, paucity, dearth, omission — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does absence come from?

The word absence breaks down into 2 roots of Latin origin: ab-, from Latin ab (“away from”); and -sen, from Latin esse (“be”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.