English Reference

Word

absentia

Phoneticsab·sen·tia

/æbˈsɛnʃə/

Definition

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.

Real-World Examples

“Staff seemed unsurprised that parents who struggled to get their children to school found it challenging to attend court on time, and decided to hear their cases in absentia.”
The Guardian · 15 Aug 2026
“Hasina was sentenced in absentia to death by hanging over her government’s deadly crackdown on the uprising.”
The Guardian · 6 Aug 2026

Etymology

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.

This entry

Level
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Occasional
Updated

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English Reference