absence
/ˈæb.s(ə)n̩s/
"absence" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“absence” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,996. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #3,996
- frequency rank, English
- 35,202
- “A” headwords
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A state of being away or withdrawn from a place or from companionship
Corpus desk
Index EN-absence · absence · English
absence · rank #3,996 · 11 variants · 3 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #3,996
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
- VAR-MID 11 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 35,202
- PHOTO-FINISH wolf
Nearest frequency peer: wolf (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “absence”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- voices
voices
96,008 corpus weight
- wishes
wishes
96,007 corpus weight
- wolf
wolf
96,006 corpus weight
- absence
absence
96,005 corpus weight
- agricultural
agricultural
96,004 corpus weight
- asshole
asshole
96,003 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “absence” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | absence |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈæb.s(ə)n̩s/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #3,996 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “absence” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 11 spelling variants around absence (IPA /ˈæb.s(ə)n̩s/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,996 among 35,202 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for absence, with forms such as "abbsence", "abesnce", and "absance". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "absent", "absentee", "ambience", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Italic *ap Latin abder. Latin ab- Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésmi Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- Proto-Indo-European *bʰúHt Proto-Italic *som~*ezom Latin sum Latin absum Latin absēns Proto-I… The correct English form is absence, spelled A-B-S-E-N-C-E.
Definition
- 1A state of being away or withdrawn from a place or from companionship
- 2The period of someone being away.
- 3Failure to be present where one is expected, wanted, or needed; nonattendance; deficiency.
- 4Lack; deficiency; non-existence.
- 5Inattention to things present; abstraction (of mind).
- 6Temporary loss or disruption of consciousness, with sudden onset and recovery, and common in epilepsy.
- 7Lack of contact between blades.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how absence appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
During Jane's absence, Mark will be taking charge.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Italic *ap Latin abder. Latin ab- Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésmi Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- Proto-Indo-European *bʰúHt Proto-Italic *som~*ezom Latin sum Latin absum Latin absēns Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ia Latin absentiader. Old French absencebor. Middle English absence English absence From Middle English absence, from Old French absence, ausence, from Latin absentia, from absēns (“absent”), present active participle of absum (“to be away or absent”), from ab (“from, away from”) + sum (“to be”).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- abbsence
- abesnce
- absance
- absecne
- absencce
- absenec
- absennce
- absnece
- abssence
- asbence
- basence
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of absence - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "absence"?
What does "absence" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "absence"?
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What is the origin of the word "absence"?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "absence", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.