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of being absent or withdrawn from a place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.
Hear it pronounced