absent-minded
/ˌæb.sn̩tˈmaɪn.dɪd/
"absent-minded" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“absent-minded” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Absent in mind; often preoccupied; forgetful or careless due to distraction; easily distracted.
Corpus desk
Index EN-absent-minded · absent-minded · English
absent-minded · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 13 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "A" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | absent-minded |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌæb.sn̩tˈmaɪn.dɪd/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “absent-minded” in English
Rare enough to double-check
absent-minded is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌæb.sn̩tˈmaɪn.dɪd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Absent in mind; often preoccupied; forgetful or careless due to distraction; easily distracted.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for absent-minded in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From absent + minded. The correct English form is absent-minded, spelled A-B-S-E-N-T---M-I-N-D-E-D.
Definition
- 1Absent in mind; often preoccupied; forgetful or careless due to distraction; easily distracted.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how absent-minded appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
It took the absent-minded man twenty minutes to find his glasses on top of his head.
His figure was bent in apologetic protest. "I ask a thousand pardons, sir," he said; "I am really so very absent-minded."
Etymology
From absent + minded.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.