absence

柯林斯词典

1. N-VAR Someone's absence from a place is the fact that they are not there. 缺席
...a bundle of letters which had arrived for me in my absence. …我不在的时候寄给我的一捆信。
2. N-SING The absence of something from a place is the fact that it is not there or does not exist. 不存在
The presence or absence of clouds can have an important impact on temperature. 云的有无对气温会产生重要影响。

The smell of cigarette smoke confirmed what he had suspected : there had been a party in his absence.
I'm deputizing for the director during his absence.
Unbeknown to me, he'd gone and rented out the apartment in my absence.
Can you account for your absence last Friday ?
A new manager was appointed during/in her absence.

In the absence of anything better the settee would serve as a bed for a couple of nights .
In our search for evidence , we were stymied by the absence of any recent documents .
They complained about the absence of vegetarian food on the menu .
In the absence of a strong government , the country soon fell into chaos .
In the absence of a television , the children were forced to find other things to keep them amused .