absentia
n.n. the state of being away from a place or not present in a situation. It is often used in legal or formal contexts to describe someone who is missing.
n. the state of being away from a place or not present in a specific context. Often used in legal or formal registers to describe the absence of a person or entity.
From Latin absentia (“being away, absence”), from absēns (“absent”), present active participle of absum (“to be away or absent”); compare absent.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated May 18, 2026