absence
French, noun/ap.sɑ̃s/
absence is spelled A-B-S-E-N-C-E (7 letters) and appears 68 times per million words in written French, the 1,228th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Absence is a French feminine noun meaning “absence (state of being absent or withdrawn)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Inexistence”.
What does absence mean in English?
noun
- 1
feminineabsence (state of being absent or withdrawn)
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Inexistence. 2. Fait d’être absent, éloignement géographique et temporel. 3. Défaut de présence à une réunion, à une assignation, à un appel. 4. Situation d’une personne dont on n’a pas reçu de nouvelles depuis une certaine époque et dont la résidence actuelle n’est pas connue.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of absence
- absences plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce absence?
- /ap.sɑ̃s/
- \ap.sɑ̃s\
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to absence
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is absence in French?
absence appears 68 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).