absent-mindedness

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English

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Etymology

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absent-minded +‎ -ness

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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absent-mindedness (countable and uncountable, plural absent-mindednesses)

  1. The characteristic or state of being easily distracted or preoccupied. [First attested in the late 19th century.][1]
    I don't mean to make mistakes; it's just absent-mindedness.
    For six years they had taken care of him and loved him—watched over his outgoings and his incomings and forgiven all his absent-mindednesses.

Synonyms

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Translations

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Further reading

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References

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