: one who shirks duty
especially
: one who stays out of school without permission
1
: shirking responsibility
especially
: absent from school without permission
2
: being, resembling, or characteristic of a truant
truanted; truanting; truants
: to idle away time especially while playing truant
… three truanting school kids …—
Marlowe Fawcett
Marlowe FawcettExamples of truant in a Sentence
Noun
an increasing number of truants
Recent Examples on the Web
Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 6 June 2025
The trend of workplace truants has been an ongoing problem for the French economy.
—Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 29 Oct. 2024
The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 4 Sep. 2025
Warren has been able to reduce its percentage of students labeled as habitually truant from 70% — the worst in Marion County — in the 2020-21 school year to 22% last year, according to state data.
—Caroline Beck, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
Lauren Lantry, ABC News, 16 Nov. 2023
See All Example Sentences for truant
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Noun
The charismatic truant has since become an archetype of 1980s cool.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 6 June 2025
The trend of workplace truants has been an ongoing problem for the French economy.
—Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 29 Oct. 2024
Adjective
In Chicago, nearly half of students were considered chronically truant, according to state data.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 4 Sep. 2025
Warren has been able to reduce its percentage of students labeled as habitually truant from 70% — the worst in Marion County — in the 2020-21 school year to 22% last year, according to state data.
—Caroline Beck, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
Verb
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
Cite this Entry
“Truant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/truant. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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