absentee
/ˌæb.sn̩ˈti/noun
absentee is spelled A-B-S-E-N-T-E-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, absentee means “A person who is absent from his or her employment, school, post, duty, etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of absentee is absentees.
How many letters and syllables are in absentee?
| Letters | 8: A-B-S-E-N-T-E-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 23,253rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is absentee?
Absentee appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce absentee?
- US /ˌæb.sn̩ˈti/
Absentee has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-absentee.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with absentee?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as absentee from its last stressed vowel (/i/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of absentee
- absentees plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does absentee mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A person who is absent from his or her employment, school, post, duty, etc.
At roll-call there were three absentees.
- 2
Designating a person absent in a particular capacity, sometimes implying that they are difficult to contact, unresponsive, avoiding their responsibilities, etc.
absentee father; absentee landlord; absentee freeholder
- 3
A person who is absent from their residence and usual environment, and has not been seen or heard from for some period of time, so that it is unknown whether they are still alive, for the purpose of civil law dealing with the management of property etc. in such cases.
- 4
Something that is not present where it might be expected.
The manufacturer's promised new model was a notable absentee at the car show.
- 5
Designating something whose owner, person responsible, etc. is absent.
absentee ballot, absentee property
- 6
UKA landholder who lives in another district or country than the one in which his estate is situated.
- 7
A voter who is not present at the time of voting; absentee voter.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Absentee in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | absent |
| German | Abwesender, Abwesende |
| Portuguese | ausente, faltoso , absentista |
| Spanish | ausente, ausentado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does absentee come from?
From absent + -ee.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).