ABSENTMINDEDNESS Synonyms: 28 Similar Words

absentmindedness

noun

as in preoccupation

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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 absentmindedness After the shopping trip, Kyle is FaceTiming with Boz about Dorit’s spending, her absentmindedness, and her inability to be on time, as if any of this is new. — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026 Some of her absentmindedness in that situation can be attributed to the sleep deprivation that accompanies life as new parent. — Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025 Poppy might have learned his lesson after the first one, but absentmindedness is strong in our gene pool. — Maggie Shipstead, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 July 2021

Recent Examples of Synonyms for absentmindedness

Noun

For centuries, getting lost was a major preoccupation—something that could prove life-changing, even life-ending.

— Shayla Love, New Yorker, 6 Aug. 2026
Sleep specialists call it orthosomnia, a preoccupation with hitting perfect sleep numbers that ends up sabotaging the sleep itself.

— Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of preoccupation

Noun

The study Patrick referenced, which was published in the journal Food & Function in 2023, analyzed food absorption in eight healthy men.

— Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Administering it via a pill requires an enormous amount of the active pharmaceutical ingredient paired with a chemical absorption enhancer just to allow a tiny fraction of the drug to survive and enter the bloodstream.

— Harvey Stober, CNBC, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of absorption

Noun

What initially reads as near abstraction—a blue oval, a red trapezoid, yellow flanking fields—reveals itself as an act of erasure.

— Carmen Rosenberg-Miller, Artforum, 6 Aug. 2026
Her portraits, including those shown at White Columns and Nicola Vassell Gallery in New York, live in the slippery space between figuration and abstraction.

— Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of abstraction

Noun

His research has included brain scans of people in prayer, meditation, rituals, and trance states, as well as surveys of people's spiritual experiences and attitudes.

— Big Think, Big Think, 6 Aug. 2026
Watching that number climb (474 straight days of meditation, as of this week) is genuinely for me.

— Nell Derick Debevoise Dewey, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of meditation

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absentminded

absentmindedness

absent oneself

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“Absentmindedness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/absentmindedness. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of absentmindedness

noun

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