Origin: Latin suffix -ence
Absence has 5 different meanings across 1 category:
failure to be present
"The teacher was furious about my absence from the final exam yesterday."
the occurrence of an abrupt, transient loss or impairment of consciousness (which is not subsequently remembered), sometimes with light twitching, fluttering eyelids, etc.; common in petit mal epilepsy
"The sudden absence during his afternoon meeting worried the teacher until she realized he was just daydreaming."
A state of being away or withdrawn from a place or from companionship
"Her absence was immediately felt when she didn't show up for our evening game night."
In plain English: Absence means not being present or somewhere you are supposed to be.
"We waited in patience for his long-awaited return after her absence."
Usage: Use "absence" to describe the state of not being present in a specific location or lacking someone's company. It refers to the condition of being away rather than the act of leaving.
The word "absence" entered English from the Old French absence, which itself came from the Latin absēns. This Latin term originally described someone who was away or not present.