absent-minded

See also: absentminded

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

absent +‎ minded

Pronunciation
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌæb.sn̩tˈmaɪn.dɪd/
  • Audio (US)(file)

Adjective

absent-minded (comparative more absent-minded, superlative most absent-minded) (possessional)

  1. Absent in mind; often preoccupied; forgetful or careless due to distraction; easily distracted. [First attested in the mid 19th century.][1]
    Coordinate terms: mindless, unmindful
    It took the absent-minded man twenty minutes to find his glasses on top of his head.
    • 1900, Kenneth Grahame, The Golden Age, page 110:
      His figure was bent in apologetic protest. "I ask a thousand pardons, sir," he said; "I am really so very absent-minded."

Derived terms

Translations

References
  1. Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “absent-minded”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 9.
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