absent

A person who is absent is not in school or not at work when he or she is expected to be there. Use the word "absent" as an adjective:

• Cynthia was absent from school this morning.
• Todd is always absent.
• The school needs to find a substitute for an absent teacher.
• She’s absent due to an illness.
• Hector is never absent from work.

The noun form of this word is "absence."

• Byron was fired because he had too many absences.
• Jennifer’s absence from work was noticed by the boss.
• Ned took a temporary leave of absence from work to spend more time with his family.
• Students will be dropped from this course after three unexcused absences.
• The absence of a computer in the hotel forced Kim to go to an internet cafe.

There are a few other ways to use this word.

• Our teacher is a little absent-minded. (He forgets things or he is easily distracted.)
• Jeremy went AWOL after getting a taste of military life. (AWOL = absent without leave; absent without permission to leave.)
• Absent any new proposals, we’re going to go with this plan. (absent = if there aren’t any…)
• The mess that was left in the house indicated that civility and respect were absent at the teenagers’ party.

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This page was first published on November 1, 2013.