Skip to content

absent

absent

adjective ahb-SAHN Less Common

Also means

absent-minded

Usage Note

Absent has a silent final 't', and its feminine form is absente. As a noun, un absent means an absentee. The proverb les absents ont toujours tort ('the absent are always wrong') reflects the French cultural idea that you must be present to defend your case.

Examples

"Il était absent lors de la réunion."

Natural Translation

He was absent during the meeting.

Free starter pack

Building your French vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore French by topic