absentmindedly
adv.adv. doing something without thinking about it or paying attention to what you are doing. You might do this when you are busy or distracted.
adv. performing an action without conscious thought or attention to the details of the task. Often used to describe habitual behaviors that occur automatically.
He absentmindedly tapped his pen on the desk.
She absentmindedly opened the fridge and took out a bottle of milk without looking at the expiration date.
The professor absentmindedly corrected a minor error in the lecture notes while simultaneously answering a student's question about the upcoming exam.
From absentminded + -ly.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated May 18, 2026