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Absents vs Absence - What's the difference?

absents | absence |

As a verb absents

is (absent).

As a noun absence is

a state of being away or withdrawn from a place or from companionship; the period of being away .

absents

English

Verb

(head)
  • (absent)
  • ----

    absent

    English

    Alternative forms

    *

    Etymology 1

    * From (etyl) absent, (etyl) .

    Adjective

    (er)
  • (not comparable) Being away from a place; withdrawn from a place; not present; missing.
  • * 1623 , (William Shakespeare), All’s Well That Ends Well, II-iii
  • Expecting absent friends.
  • (not comparable) Not existing; lacking.
  • The part was rudimental or absent .
  • (sometimes, comparable) Inattentive to what is passing; absent-minded; preoccupied.
  • * 1746-1747 , Chesterfield, Letters to his Son
  • What is commonly called an absent man is commonly either a very weak or a very affected man.
    Antonyms
    * present

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete) Absentee; a person who is away on occasion.
  • Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • (legal) In the absence of; without.
  • * 1919 , State vs. Britt, Supreme Court of Missouri, Division 2, in The Southwestern Reporter , page 427
  • If the accused refuse upon demand to pay money or deliver property (absent any excuse or excusing circumstance) which came into his hands as a bailee, such refusal might well constitute some evidence of conversion, with the requisite fraudulent intent required by the statute.
  • * 2011 , David Elstein, letter, London Review of Books , XXXIII.15:
  • the Princess Caroline case [...] established that – absent a measurable ‘public interest’ in publication – she was safe from being photographed while out shopping.

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) absenter, from .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (transitive, now, reflexive) Keep away; stay away; go away.
  • *
  • Go; for thy stay, not free, absents thee more;
  • * 1701-1703 , , "Remarks on Italy"
  • If after due summons any member absents himself, he is to be fined.
  • *
  • This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half.
  • (obsolete) Stay away; withdraw.
  • (rare) Leave.
  • Anagrams

    *

    References

    English heteronyms ----

    absence

    English

    Alternative forms

    *

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • A state of being away or withdrawn from a place or from companionship; the period of being away.
  • * (rfdate) (w) 2:12
  • Not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence .
  • Failure to be present where one is expected, wanted, or needed; nonattendance; deficiency.
  • * (rfdate) - Kent
  • In the absence of conventional law.
  • Lack; deficiency; nonexistence.
  • Inattention to things present; abstraction (of mind).
  • * (rfdate), (Joseph Addison) (1672-1719)
  • Reflecting on the little absences and distractions of mankind.
  • * 1824-1829? , (w), (Imaginary Conversations)
  • To conquer that abstraction which is called absence .
  • (medical) Temporary loss or disruption of consciousness, with sudden onset and recovery, and common in epilepsy.
  • (fencing) Lack of contact between blades.
  • Derived terms

    * absence makes the heart grow fonder

    Antonyms

    * (state of being away) presence * existence, possession, sufficiency

    References

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