absence
Other forms: absences
Absence is the state of not being someplace, like school. It can also refer to the amount of time something has been, or plans to be gone.
We most commonly think of absence as the opposite of present in places school, but really it can refer to anything that's missing or something that's lacking. Darkness is an absence of light, and cold is an absence of heat. The figure of speech "absence makes the heart grow fonder" means "when my beloved isn't here, my feelings for them get even stronger" or "when something's gone, you want it even more."
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the state of being absent“he was surprised by the absence of any explanation”antonyms:presencethe state of being present; current existencetypes:nonoccurrenceabsence by virtue of not occurringawaynessthe state of being elsewhere than in particular placetype of:
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failure to be presentantonyms:presencethe act of being presenttypes:cutan unexcused absence from classdefaultloss due to not showing upabsenteeismhabitual absence from worktype of:nonattendancethe failure to attend
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the time interval during which something or somebody is away
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the occurrence of an abrupt, transient loss or impairment of consciousness (which is not subsequently remembered), sometimes with light twitching, fluttering eyelids, etc.; common in petit mal epilepsysynonyms: absence seizuretypes:complex absencean absence seizure accompanied by other abnormalities (atonia or automatisms or vasomotor changes)pure absence, simple absencean absence seizure without other complications; followed by 3-per-sec brainwave spikessubclinical absencea transient impairment of cortical function demonstrable only by 3-per-second brainwave spikes
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Vocabulary lists containing absence
In this classic coming-of-age story, Scout Finch recounts her childhood in Maycomb, Alabama. When Scout's father is appointed to defend a black man in a high-profile trial, racial tensions in the small town come to a head. Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–11, Chapters 12–15, Chapters 16–19, Chapters 20–25, Chapters 26–31 Here is a link to our lists for Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
"I before E except after C." It's weird how often spelling rules like that don't work in English! Instead of spending countless hours learning a ton of spelling rules and hundreds of exceptions, choose the Spelling Bee activity to brush up on these commonly misspelled English words. It's an ingenious way for you to become a spelling genius! Here are links to our lists in the collection: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5, List 6
