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.

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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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for truant
Adjective
  • The vote was 6-2 against Buchanan's reappointment, with two board members absent.
    Joseph Flaherty, Arkansas Online, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Traditional holiday themes of generosity, salvation, and tradition are mostly absent here.
    Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Police had found the 31-year-old’s car still idling.
    Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 10 Nov. 2025
  • The 49ers idled on Tuesday’s trade deadline, but only after dealing a week earlier for defensive lineman Keion White and a 2026 seventh-round pick in exchange for a sixth-rounder to New England.
    Cam Inman, Mercury News, 5 Nov. 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
  • Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was bummed out by Tech’s decision.
    Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Democrats’ most visible strategy appears to be trying to bum a few bucks from the grassroots—when the grassroots’ greatest power is in protest, boycott, and other unified mobilization efforts.
    Sarah Stankorb, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Relief also came for DHS employees on Thursday when it was announced that USDA will provide administrative funding for the SNAP program, meaning the state won't furlough 1,500 employees in its Division of County Operations on Friday.
    Daniel McFadin, Arkansas Online, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Additionally, Ultium Cells’ operations in Warren, Ohio will halt production similar to the Spring Hill plant, but will furlough 850 of its workers, and indefinitely lay off 550 employees.
    Stuart Dyos, Nashville Tennessean, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • My request to ownership is don’t dawdle.
    DP Opinion, Denver Post, 19 Oct. 2025
  • Ticket availability is scant as of this writing, don’t dawdle (with Jon Muq.
    Aaron Davis, Sacbee.com, 6 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Instead of setting up a spot on the sand, beachgoers typically pitch their chairs in the shallow clear blue water and laze the day away.
    Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2025
  • Conrad is literally ready to skip his whole Brussels conference in order to laze around in bed with Belly for the next several days, but Belly has cold feet.
    Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The officials were fooled, ruling it incomplete.
    The Athletic College Football Staff, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
  • Don’t let the domesticity fool you, however.
    Katie Rife, Vulture, 9 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Truant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/truant. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.

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