absentee

/ˌæb.sn̩ˈti/

//ˌæb.sn̩ˈti// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"absentee" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“absentee” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,160. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,160
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who is absent from his or her employment, school, post, duty, etc.

Corpus desk

Index EN-absentee · absentee · English

absentee · rank #23,160 · 11 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,160
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH 4D

Nearest frequency peer: 4D (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “absentee”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “absentee” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

absentee vs absinthe
75% similar
absentee vs absentia
75% similar
absentee vs absent
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for absentee
PropertyValue
Headwordabsentee
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌæb.sn̩ˈti/
Letters8
Frequency rank#23,160
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “absentee”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).absenteelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “4D” (#23,159), “Yves” (#23,158), “admirers” (#23,162). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “absentee” is #23,160. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around absentee (IPA /ˌæb.sn̩ˈti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #23,160 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for absentee, with forms such as "abbsentee", "abesntee", and "absenete". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "absinthe", "absentia", "absent", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From absent + -ee. The correct English form is absentee, spelled A-B-S-E-N-T-E-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who is absent from his or her employment, school, post, duty, etc.
  2. 2
    A person who is absent from his or her employment, school, post, duty, etc.
  3. 3
    A person who is absent from his or her employment, school, post, duty, etc.
  4. 4
    Something that is not present where it might be expected.
  5. 5
    Designating something whose owner, person responsible, etc. is absent.
  6. 6
    A landholder who lives in another district or country than the one in which his estate is situated.
  7. 7
    A voter who is not present at the time of voting; absentee voter.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how absentee appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. At roll-call there were three absentees.
  2. absentee father; absentee landlord; absentee freeholder

Etymology

From absent + -ee.

This word in other languages

ausente(Español)absent(Français)Abwesender(Deutsch)ausente(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abbsentee
  • abesntee
  • absenete
  • absenntee
  • absente
  • absenttee
  • absetnee
  • absnetee
  • abssentee
  • asbentee
  • basentee

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of absentee - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

abbsentee1abesntee2absenete2absenntee1absente1absenttee1absetnee2absnetee2
Edit distance from "absentee"

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "absentee"?
"absentee" is spelled A-B-S-E-N-T-E-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌæb.sn̩ˈti/.
What does "absentee" mean?
As a noun, "absentee" means: A person who is absent from his or her employment, school, post, duty, etc.
What words are commonly confused with "absentee"?
"absentee" is commonly confused with "absinthe", "absentia", "absent". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "absentee"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "absentee" is /ˌæb.sn̩ˈti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "absentee"?
From absent + -ee. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "absentee", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

admirers#23,162waterway#23,153unloaded#23,147bismarck#23,181

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

autoimmune11 variantsBurbank11 variantscavalier11 variantschauffeur11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list