absent-minded

absent-minded
I
(Roget's IV) modif.
Syn. abstracted, preoccupied, lost in thought, forgetful, distracted, dreamy, inattentive, lost, unmindful, absent, unheeding, heedless, oblivious, distrait, daydreaming, napping, unconscious, unaware, inadvertent, withdrawn, removed, faraway, musing, bemused, woolgathering, stargazing, remote, scatterbrained, vacant, blank, nobody home*, mooning*, not all there*, moony*, in a brown study*, in the clouds*, with one's head in the clouds*, out of it*, spacey*, spaced out*.
Ant. attentive, observant*, alert.
Syn.- absent-minded suggests an aimless wandering of the mind away from the immediate situation, often implying a habitual tendency of this kind [ the absent-minded professor ] ; abstracted suggests a withdrawal of the mind from the immediate present and a serious concern with some other subject; preoccupied implies that the attention cannot be readily turned to something New because of its concern with a present matter; distrait suggests inability to concentrate, often emphasizing such a condition as a mood; distraught connotes agitation along with an inability to concentrate, specifically because of worry, grief, etc.; inattentive implies a failure to pay attention, emphasizing such behavior as a lack of discipline
II
(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) a.
inattentive, scatterbrained, *out to lunch, dreamy, oblivious, daydreaming, lost, forgetful, abstracted, preoccupied, absorbed, remote, *spacey, *head in the clouds, distrait.
ANT.: attentive, alert, sharp, focused
III
(Roget's Thesaurus II) adjective So lost in thought as to be unaware of one's surroundings: absent, abstracted, bemused, distrait, faraway, inattentive, preoccupied. Idiom: a million miles away. See ABILITY, AWARENESS.

English dictionary for students. 2013.

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  • absent-minded — absent mindedly, adv. absent mindedness, n. /ab seuhnt muyn did/, adj. so lost in thought that one does not realize what one is doing, what is happening, etc.; preoccupied to the extent of being unaware of one s immediate surroundings. Also,… …   Universalium

  • absent-minded — or absentminded [ab′sənt mīn′did, ab′səntmīn΄did] adj. 1. so dreamy or lost in thought as not to pay attention to what one is doing or what is going on around one 2. habitually forgetful absent mindedly adv. absent mindedness n. SYN. ABSENT… …   English World dictionary

  • absent-minded — adj likely to forget things, especially because you are thinking about something else = ↑forgetful ▪ Grandad s been getting rather absent minded lately. >absent mindedly adv >absent mindedness n [U] …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • absent-minded — adjective likely to forget things or to think about something different from what you should be thinking about: FORGETFUL: I m getting more absent minded as I get older. ╾ ,absent mindedly adverb ╾ ,absent mindedness noun uncount …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • absent-minded — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ inattentive or forgetful. DERIVATIVES absent mindedly adverb absent mindedness noun …   English terms dictionary

  • Absent-minded — Ab sent mind ed, a. Absent in mind; abstracted; preoccupied. {Ab sent mind ed*ness}, n. {Ab sent mind ed*ly}, adv. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • absent-minded — [adj] unaware of events, surroundings absent, absorbed, abstracted, airheaded*, bemused, daydreaming, distracted, distrait, dreaming, dreamy, engrossed, faraway, forgetful, goofing off*, heedless, inattentive, inconscient, lost, mooning*, moony* …   New thesaurus

  • absent-minded — index perfunctory, thoughtless Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • absent-minded — adj. habitually forgetful or inattentive; with one s mind on other things. Derivatives: absent mindedly adv. absent mindedness n. * * * absent mindedly, adv. absent mindedness, n. /ab seuhnt muyn did/, adj. so lost in thought that one does not… …   Useful english dictionary

  • absent-minded — also absentminded ADJ GRADED Someone who is absent minded forgets things or does not pay attention to what they are doing, often because they are thinking about something else. In his later life he became even more absent minded. Syn: forgetful… …   English dictionary

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