Ab"sence (#), n. [F., fr. L. absentia. See Absent.]
1.
A state of being absent or withdrawn from a place or from companionship; -- opposed to presence.
Not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence.
Phil. ii. 12.
2.
Want; destitution; withdrawal.
"In the
absence of
conventional law."
Kent.
3.
Inattention to things present; abstraction (of mind); as, absence of mind.
"Reflecting on the little
absences and distractions of
mankind."
Addison.
To conquer that abstraction which is called absence.
Landor.
© Webster 1913.