Definition of "absence" []

• The state of being away. (noun)
• The time during which one is away. (noun)
• Lack; want: an absence of leadership. (noun)
• The state of being absent-minded; inattentiveness: absence of mind. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In woman very often voluptuous pleasure is entirely lacking; certainly such absence is far commoner in women than in men -- a condition of affairs which must on no account be confused with _absence of the sexual impulse_."
• "He did note increased international impatience with what he termed the "absence" of a peace process."
• "The reports have faulted Rome for sending confusing messages to the Irish church about norms to be followed and, in general, for what it called the absence of a coherent set of canon laws and rules to apply in cases of abuse."