Skip to content

ausencia

absence

noun ah-oo-SEHN-syah Less Common
People & Society Community

Origin: From Latin 'absentia'.

Usage Note

Ausencia is used for both physical absence (su ausencia del trabajo) and emotional absence. The legal phrase en ausencia de ('in the absence of') is common in formal texts. The opposite is presencia. Note the diphthong au- at the start, which learners sometimes mispronounce as a single vowel.

Examples

"Su ausencia fue muy notada en la reunión."

Natural Translation

Her absence was very noticeable at the meeting.

Literal Translation

Her absence was-very noted in the meeting.

Explore Spanish by topic