presence - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com

Presence is the state of being somewhere. When you get an invitation that reads "Your presence is requested,” you are being asked to show up. Your style of being there — your demeanor or bearing — is also your presence.

Usually, presence is a physical thing. Since the 1600s, the word has also meant something otherwordly, a spiritual or divine presence. If you suddenly feel a weird presence in the room, perhaps it's a ghost . . . or just the cat. Use the phrase "presence of mind" to indicate when someone is quick-witted or just paying attention. While your job washing skyscraper windows doesn't require a lot of brain work, it's a good idea to keep your presence of mind while working.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: presence

1	n	the state of being present; current existence
2	n	the immediate proximity of someone or something
3	n	dignified manner or conduct

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: presence

1

n the state of being present; current existence

“he tested for the presence of radon”

Antonyms:: absence
the state of being absent

Types:: show 11 types...; hide 11 types...; immanence, immanency
the state of being within or not going beyond a given domain; inherence, inherency
the state of inhering; the state of being a fixed characteristic; ubiety
the state of existing and being localized in space; omnipresence, ubiquitousness, ubiquity
the state of being everywhere at once (or seeming to be everywhere at once); hereness
the state of being here in this place; thereness
the state of being there--not here--in position; thereness
real existence; occurrence
an instance of something occurring; shadow
a dominating and pervasive presence; allopatry
the occurrence of related organisms in separate geographical areas with no overlap; sympatry
the occurrence of organisms in overlapping geographical areas, but without interbreeding

Type of:: being, beingness, existence
the state or fact of existing

n the act of being present

Antonyms:: absence
failure to be present

Type of:: attendance, attending
the act of being present (at a meeting or event etc.)

n the impression that something is present

“he felt the presence of an evil force”

Type of:: belief, feeling, impression, notion, opinion
a vague idea in which some confidence is placed

2

n the immediate proximity of someone or something

“she blushed in his presence”

“he sensed the presence of danger”

Synonyms:: front

Type of:: proximity
the region close around a person or thing

n an invisible spiritual being felt to be nearby

Type of:: disembodied spirit, spirit
any incorporeal supernatural being that can become visible (or audible) to human beings

3

n dignified manner or conduct

Synonyms:: bearing, comportment, mien

Types:: dignity, gravitas, lordliness
formality in bearing and appearance

Type of:: manner, personal manner
a way of acting or behaving