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.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 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
Verb
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 See All Example Sentences for truant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for truant
Adjective
  • This creates an unchecked culture of humiliation, and makes the social media world for Gen Z a place where accountability is absent and cruelty is rewarded.
    Eli Thompson, Rolling Stone, 25 Oct. 2025
  • In the video released by police the man is absent from the camera frame for much of the chase and he is not seen turning toward the officer or raising his gun.
    Violet Ikonomova, Freep.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Difficulty accelerating, misfiring, shuttering, and rough idling can indicate bad gasoline.
    Kamron Sanders, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Oct. 2025
  • In practice, though, the production rate fell well below the ceiling last year as the company contended with investigations and a machinists’ strike that idled factories for almost eight weeks.
    Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 18 Oct. 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
  • 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
  • Alabama gave Georgia its first home loss in six years with a 24-21 constriction; Oregon rode a pair of Moores (Dante and Dakorien) to bum out Happy Valley in extra time.
    Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The Social Security Administration will continue to issue retirement and disability benefits but will furlough 12% of its staff and pause marketing campaigns, according to the agency’s shutdown plan.
    Terry Moseley, USA Today, 22 Oct. 2025
  • More than a million federal workers have been furloughed or are working without pay.
    Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 10 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
  • As Rolling Stone has previously reported, bogus images of classic rockers in hospitals or singing at the graves of other rockers have flooded the internet — fooling some fans in the process and provoking laughs in just as many.
    David Browne, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Ultimately, the quarterback fooled the Raiders and proceeded to take the snap and get the Chiefs a first down.
    Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 21 Oct. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Truant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/truant. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on truant

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!