ABSENCE
Dictionary entry overview: What does absence mean?
• ABSENCE (noun)
The noun ABSENCE has 4 senses:
1. the state of being absent
2. failure to be present
3. the time interval during which something or somebody is away
4. epilepsy characterized by paroxysmal attacks of brief clouding of consciousness (a possible other abnormalities)
Familiarity information: ABSENCE used as a noun is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
• ABSENCE (noun)
Meaning:
The state of being absent
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Context example:
he was surprised by the absence of any explanation
Hypernyms ("absence" is a kind of...):
deficiency; lack; want (the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "absence"):
nonoccurrence (absence by virtue of not occurring)
awayness (the state of being elsewhere than in particular place)
Antonym:
presence (the state of being present; current existence)
Meaning:
Failure to be present
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("absence" is a kind of...):
nonattendance (the failure to attend)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "absence"):
cut (an unexcused absence from class)
default (loss due to not showing up)
absenteeism (habitual absence from work)
Antonym:
presence (the act of being present)
Meaning:
The time interval during which something or somebody is away
Classified under:
Nouns denoting time and temporal relations
Context example:
he visited during my absence
Hypernyms ("absence" is a kind of...):
interval; time interval (a definite length of time marked off by two instants)
Meaning:
Epilepsy characterized by paroxysmal attacks of brief clouding of consciousness (a possible other abnormalities)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Synonyms:
petit mal epilepsy; absence
Hypernyms ("absence" is a kind of...):
epilepsy (a disorder of the central nervous system characterized by loss of consciousness and convulsions)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "absence"):
complex absence (petit mal seizure accompanied by other abnormalities (atonia or automatisms or vasomotor changes))
pure absence; simple absence (petit mal seizure without other complications; followed by 3-per-sec brainwave spikes)
subclinical absence (transient impairment of cortical function demonstrable only by 3-per-second brainwave spikes)
