absently
/ˈæb.sn̩t.li/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.92 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adv
In an absent-minded or abstracted manner.
Example Sentences
- "When he is in company he will sit absently muttering over a heap of Arabick, or in a Ciceronian attitude, declaim with all the vehemency of eloquence […]"
- "1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Phase the Fourth, Chapter 34, […] his wife, flinging a shawl round her, had come to the outer room and was listening to the man's narrative, her eyes resting absently on the luggage and the drops of rain glistening upon it."
- "Absently, he picked a dew-wet leaf from the hibiscus shrub, crushed it in his palm, put it in his mouth and came towards her, chewing."
- "The ordeal is a world away from Kira now as she plays games on her new iPad while absently talking about downloading more apps to play music, and voicing her excitement over reuniting soon with her grandfather’s girlfriend."
Etymology
Etymology tree Latin absum Latin absēnsder. Old French ausentder. Middle French absentbor. ▲ Latin absēnsbor. Middle English absent English absent Middle English -ly English -ly English absently From absent + -ly.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈæb.sn̩t.li/
Inflected Forms
more absently (comparative)
most absently (superlative)