# absence vs absentee

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### absence
*noun · IPA /ˈæb.s(ə)n̩s/ · frequency rank #3,996*
A state of being away or withdrawn from a place or from companionship

### absentee
*noun · IPA /ˌæb.sn̩ˈti/ · frequency rank #23,160*
A person who is absent from his or her employment, school, post, duty, etc.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/absence-vs-absentee