absentee
nounUS /ˌæb.sn̩ˈti/
Etymology From absent + -ee.
7 senses
- 1A person who is absent from his or her employment…
- 2Designating a person absent in a particular capacity…
- 3A person who is absent from their residence and usual…
- 4Something that is not present where it might be expected.
- 5Designating something whose owner, person responsible…
- 6A landholder who lives in another district or country…
- 7A voter who is not present at the time of voting; absentee voter.
A person who is absent from his or her employment, school, post, duty, etc.
- At roll-call there were three absentees.
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
Law 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.
Something that is not present where it might be expected.
- The manufacturer's promised new model was a notable absentee at the car show.
Designating something whose owner, person responsible, etc. is absent.
- absentee ballot, absentee property
- In Wyoming, a GOP state senator forwarded an FGA draft bill to Secretary of State Chuck Gray that would prohibit sending out unsolicited absentee ballot request forms.2024 March 17, Daniel Medina and Bob Ortega, “Emails show how a right-wing group steers GOP leaders on major policy issues”, in CNN:
UK, Historical A landholder who lives in another district or country than the one in which his estate is situated.
- My trustees are going to lend Earl Blessington sixty thousand pounds (at six per cent.) on a Dublin mortgage. Only think of my becoming an Irish absentee!1840, Lord Byron, “Letter 374: to Mr. Moore (24 May 1820)”, in John Murray, editor, The Works of Lord Byron: With His Letters and Journals, and His Life, page 317:
A voter who is not present at the time of voting; absentee voter.
- In recent primaries, for example, nearly 4% of absentees were rejected in Philadelphia; 8% in Kentucky; and 20% in parts of New York City.2020 September 14, Richard H. Pildes, “The three words that can avert an election nightmare”, in CNN:
- Derived terms
- absentee ballot, absenteeist, absentee ownership, absenteeship, absentee vote, absentee voting, absenteism, presentee
- Related terms
- absenteeism