How to Use absence in a Sentence

absence

noun
Definition of absencenext
Synonyms for absencenext
  • He had many absences from work.
  • I expected to see her and was surprised by her absence.
  • She returned to the company after a long absence.
  • The products showed a remarkable absence of defects.
  • Called the Galápagos of the East, the Seychelles Islands, in the Indian Ocean, have been inhabited for only the past 200 years. In humanity's absence, nature ran wild: Tens of thousands of giant tortoises still lumber along the beaches, and a palm forest shelters … rare black parrots.
    — Audubon, September-October 1998
  • Thrun missed six games and the Sharks went 2-3-1 in his absence.
    — Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 19 Feb. 2024
  • Perhaps a more telling sign of the peril were the absences at the state convention.
    — Amy Gardner, Washington Post, 12 June 2023
  • During the day the skies are clear of planes, an odd absence for a capital city.
    — WIRED, 25 July 2023
  • The most striking aspect of this team is the absence of high-end talent.
    — Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 25 Mar. 2024
  • His absence from the summit of the Billboard albums chart seems to be part of a larger trend, though.
    — Chris Richards, Washington Post, 4 Aug. 2023
  • But that world, in comics, was able to do more, for more readers, in the absence of competition.
    — Stephanie Burt, The New Yorker, 20 Sep. 2023
  • One of the most notable absences will be Rafael Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam singles champion.
    — Jesus Jiménez, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2023
  • In the absence of gravity, fluids shift toward the head.
    — Rachael Seidler, Discover Magazine, 22 Sep. 2023
  • If something goes wrong with the child, the mother will loom large, either for her presence or for her absence.
    — Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 14 June 2023
  • His absence has left a void in my life that feels insurmountable at the moment.
    — Variety, NBC News, 2 Apr. 2024
  • But for some, the absences were glaring in Best Actress and Best Director.
    — Liza Esquibias, Peoplemag, 25 Jan. 2024
  • But the correspondences also show the gap left by their absence.
    — Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2023
  • Prince William apologized for his wife's absence at the British equivalent of the Oscars.
    — Stephanie Petit, Peoplemag, 28 Feb. 2024
  • With Fletcher’s absence, there are two Democrats and two Republicans on the board.
    — Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 July 2023
  • In Father’s absence, his younger brother, Uncle Usama, was the one in charge.
    — Mohammed Naseehu Ali, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
  • Matt Nelson and Germain Ifedi took first-team reps in Sewell's absence.
    — Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, 2 Aug. 2023
  • But, in the absence of brain tissue, what was inside that massive skull has remained a mystery.
    — Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, 12 Dec. 2023
  • In the absence of a free press, news spread by word of mouth: thousands of people were tortured, or left to die, in detention centers.
    — Stephania Taladrid, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023
  • Atop the list was the sudden absence of Ime Udoka, who, as the Celtics’ first-year head coach last season, left his defense-minded imprint on the team.
    — Scott Cacciola, New York Times, 29 May 2023
  • Information can scare children, sure, but so can the absence of it.
    — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 16 Oct. 2023
  • Gallagher's seat will likely be filled this fall — leaving the seat vacant in the absence of a special election.
    — Lawrence Andrea, Journal Sentinel, 23 Mar. 2024
  • The girls seem to be flourishing despite the absence of their mother, Kim Porter, who passed away in November 2018.
    — Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 14 Oct. 2023
  • His absence allows the Fire Nation to wipe out the Air Nomads and wage a war for global domination.
    — Nick Romano, EW.com, 4 Apr. 2024
  • Due to its location on the globe, all Norwegians have to deal with the absence of the sun during the winter months, but some choose to lean into the gloom more than others.
    — Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 13 Oct. 2023
  • The absence of the more modern steroids during this time suggests that the crown group didn’t immediately take hold.
    — Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 23 Oct. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'absence.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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