overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

absence.

A state of being away or withdrawn from a place or from companionship

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈæb.s(ə)n̩s/UK/ˈæb.s(ə)n̩ts/UK/ˈæb.s(ə)n̩s//ˈæb.sn̩ts/

  1. A state of being away or withdrawn from a place or from companionship

    uncountable · usually
    Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

  2. The period of someone being away.

    uncountable · usually
    During Jane's absence, Mark will be taking charge.

  3. Failure to be present where one is expected, wanted, or needed; nonattendance; deficiency.

    uncountable · usually

  4. Lack; deficiency; non-existence.

    uncountable · usually
    He had an absence of enthusiasm.

  5. Inattention to things present; abstraction (of mind).

    uncountable · usually
    absence of mind

  6. Temporary loss or disruption of consciousness, with sudden onset and recovery, and common in epilepsy.

    uncountable · usually

  7. Lack of contact between blades.

    uncountable · usually
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Italic *ap Latin abder. Latin ab- Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- Proto-Indo-European *-t Proto-Indo-European *bʰúHt Proto-Italic *ezom~*som Archaic Latin 𐌄𐌔𐌏𐌌 (esom) Old Latin esum Latin sum Latin absum Latin absēns Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ia Latin absentiader. Old French absencebor. Middle English absence English absence From Middle English absence, from Old French absence, ausence, from Latin absentia, from absēns (“absent”), present active participle of absum (“to be away or absent”), from ab (“from, away from”) + sum (“to be”).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

absence has 7 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

absence studioabsence workshello, absence

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.