Absence

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Absence \Ab"sence\, n. [F., fr. L. absentia. See {Absent}.]
     1. A state of being absent or withdrawn from a place or from
        companionship; -- opposed to {presence}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Not as in my presence only, but now much more in my


              absence.                              --Phil. ii.
                                                    12.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Want; destitution; withdrawal. "In the absence of
        conventional law." --Kent.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Inattention to things present; abstraction (of mind); as,
        absence of mind. "Reflecting on the little absences and
        distractions of mankind." --Addison.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              To conquer that abstraction which is called absence.
                                                    --Landor.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  absence
       n 1: the state of being absent; "he was surprised by the absence
            of any explanation" [ant: {presence}]
       2: failure to be present [ant: {presence}]
       3: the time interval during which something or somebody is
          away; "he visited during my absence"
       4: epilepsy characterized by paroxysmal attacks of brief
          clouding of consciousness (a possible other abnormalities)
          [syn: {petit mal epilepsy}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  81 Moby Thesaurus words for "absence":
     AWOL, French leave, abscondence, absence without leave,
     absentation, absenteeism, absenting, beggary, cut, day off, dearth,
     default, defect, defectiveness, deficiency, deficit, departure,
     deprivation, destitution, disappearance, drought, emptiness,
     escape, excused absence, exigency, famine, fleeing, furlough,
     holiday, hooky, imperfection, impoverishment, inadequacy,
     incompleteness, insufficiency, lack, leave, leave of absence,
     leaving, miss, necessity, need, negation, negativeness, negativity,
     nihility, nonappearance, nonattendance, nonbeing, nonentity,
     nonexistence, nonoccurrence, nonreality, nonsubsistence, not-being,
     nothingness, nullity, omission, paucity, privation, running away,
     sabbatical leave, scantiness, scarcity, shortage, shortcoming,
     shortfall, sick leave, starvation, truancy, truantism, unactuality,
     unexcused absence, unreality, vacancy, vacation, vacuity, vacuum,
     void, want, wantage