truant 1 of 2

as in absent
not present at a mandatory time and place Her son was suspended after being truant from school a number of times.

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

truant

2 of 2

verb

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of truant
Adjective
The bill also addresses children and teens who are habitually truant. Jessica Babb, Baltimore Sun, 29 Jan. 2025 But if a cadre of concerned neighborhood volunteers can be cobbled together with parents who have truant kids of their own, perhaps efforts to reach out to families who have given up minding their kids may actually have a chance of working. Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 1 Dec. 2024
Verb
The program helps truant students get back on track. Byron Pitts, ABC News, 16 Nov. 2023 In Los Angeles, school superintendent Alberto Carvalho has gone door to door; in Alabama, signs stressing the importance of attendance are displayed on front lawns; in Philadelphia, local programs have been established that send out text messages to potentially truant youths' parents. Lauren Lantry, ABC News, 16 Nov. 2023 See All Example Sentences for truant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for truant
Adjective
  • The couple was notably absent from David's 50th birthday bash in May.
    Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 14 June 2025
  • At a fertile expanse of Ventura County, workers who would typically be shuffling up and down the strawberry rows were largely absent.
    Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2025
Verb
  • That new boom idled for a decade until Vladimir Putin created a commodities frenzy by invading Ukraine, one of the world’s most important ag exporters.
    Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 15 June 2025
  • Port roads jammed with diesel trucks, oil refineries processing fuel, ships idling to be unloaded, make for some of the worst air in the state.
    Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2025
Verb
  • The entire day felt dehumanizing, as if her nearly eight years with the company, her medical problems and her physical pain had been reduced to nothing more than malingering and scattered incidents of tardiness.
    Greg Jaffe, Anchorage Daily News, 18 June 2023
  • Goldstein, who did not return a message seeking comment, practices in Chicago and has lectured on the topic of malingering, according to a resume posted online.
    Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2023
Verb
  • The graduate is not only bummed about the sister’s absence.
    Brian Anthony Hernandez, People.com, 25 May 2025
  • Everyone — from those actually paying to the ones still bumming a log-in — wants to know how Netflix and other streaming services’ crackdowns on password sharing affect them.
    Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 20 May 2025
Verb
  • During the pandemic, the sector laid off or furloughed 373,000 employees, or 36% of its workforce.
    Paul Davidson, USA Today, 11 June 2025
  • The district laid off and furloughed employees during that time, while scrapping plans to renovate or rebuild many decaying schools.
    Scott Travis, Sun Sentinel, 22 May 2025
Verb
  • Some of this feels more like dawdling: What's the point of Stick's cynical old buddy (Marc Maron) getting trapped under a fold-out bed?
    Tom Gliatto, People.com, 4 June 2025
  • According to PitchBook, venture capital deals dawdled in 2024—fewer funding deals took place, but those that did tended to have higher valuations.
    Zoya Hasan, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Tubers can laze the day away taking in stretches of quiet solitude catching herons, egrets and anhinga perched along stands of bald cypress, and the occasional run of waterfront homes.
    Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 May 2025
  • The picturesque Anse de la Fausse Monnaie, a cove along the Corniche Kennedy, the road that wraps along the coast, is an ideal spot for lazing and gazing at the sea.
    Lily Radziemski, New York Times, 29 May 2025
Verb
  • Even though baby clothes and newborn diapers feel too tiny to wreak havoc, don’t be fooled!
    Briana Feigon, Architectural Digest, 19 June 2025
  • Perhaps that’s what fans were griping about last year — that Burns didn’t have it anymore and Slavin was papering over all those issues, enough to fool this model.
    Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 18 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Truant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/truant. Accessed 27 Jun. 2025.

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