A reference to not being present, to be away from a place: "Why were you absent from work yesterday?"

"He gave her a very absent stare as if he didn't understand what she was saying."

To stay away from something: "Debra and Amanda were absenting themselves from the meeting because of the weather."

"Why did you absent yourself from the meeting yesterday?"

"With permission, Antonio, Danny, and Luis have absented ourselves from attending the lecture at the university tomorrow."

"The members of the club were absenting themselves from the golf course today because of the rain."

1. Being preoccupied, forgetful, or careless as a result of some kind of distraction: "It took the absent-minded man a long time to find his glasses which were on top of his head."
2. Lost in thought or showing a preoccupation with something else: "The absentminded writer couldn't remember where he put his notes for the new chapter of his book."

1. A low level of attention or an intense attention to a single object of focus that makes a person unaware of what is going on around him or her: "Absentmindedness is clearly a part of everyone's life when something is merely inconvenient; such as, missing a familiar turn-off on the highway or some are very serious as when absentmindedness can cause accidents, injury, or even a loss of life."

"Jeff's absentmindedness caused him to be late because he took the wrong public transportaion to work."

2. A preoccupation with something that is so great that the ordinary demands of attention on something are ignored: "Cheryl was so lost in her absentmindedness that she was unaware of where she was or what she was supposed to be doing there."