Absently

//ˈæb.sn̩t.li// adv

adv ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adverb
  1. 1
    In an absent-minded or abstracted manner.

    "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 […]"

Adverb
  1. 1
    in an absentminded or preoccupied manner wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
absent mindedlyabsent-mindedlyabsentmindedlyabsentmindedlyabstractedlyabstractedly

Example

More examples

"Tom looked absently out the window."

Etymology

From absent + -ly.

Related phrases

absent minded

More for "absently"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.