Synonyms for absent
- adjective
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Abstracted — inattentive to what is passing; absent-minded; preoccupied
lost, abstracted, absent-minded, preoccupied, inattentive, musing, dreamy, scatty
Other
non-existent, away, gone, truant, poor
Definitions
- adj. 1
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Tom was there, but he seemed absent and withdrawn.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.
- adj. 2
Being away from a place; withdrawn from a place; existing but not present; (sometimes) missing.
When they were able to return to the clinic some months later, certain pieces of equipment were absent.
Related words
- Word family
- absently absentness absence absentee absenteeism absentia
- Phrases
- absent treatment absent without leave
Choose the right word
As regards mental action, absorbed, abstracted, and preoccupied refer to the cause, absent or absent-minded to the effect. The man absorbed in one thing will appear absent in others.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- preoccupied I know that Tom is a little preoccupied right now.
- inattentive The older we get, the more inattentive we become.
- missing I was angry about missing that film at the cinema.
- lacking The service is slow because they're lacking staff.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| absent | steady | |
| preoccupied | rising | |
| inattentive | rising | |
| scatty | rising | |
| missing | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- away2, lost1, gone1, poor1
- 6 letters
- dreamy2, musing2, truant2, scatty
- 7 letters
- missing2, wanting2, lacking2
- 9 letters
- deficient3
- 10 letters
- abstracted3
- 11 letters
- preoccupied4, inattentive4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (away2 = 2 syllables).