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 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
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 School personnel also would be prohibited from referring truant students to police to be ticketed as punishment. Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 28 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for truant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for truant
Adjective
  • And in Longo’s image, the subtext is the absent laborer.
    Kristen Tauer, Footwear News, 6 Sep. 2025
  • If students were not in class, they would be marked absent but would be excused if a parent called them out.
    Alec Johnson, jsonline.com, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • For example, students in Australia led a successful initiative to improve air quality around their schools by having parents cut down on engine idling time.
    Ana Santos Rutschman, The Conversation, 9 Sep. 2025
  • When a motivated consumer still feels unconvinced, the market is idling in the wrong gear.
    Kate Hardcastle, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 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
  • That’s what was bumming him out.
    Emily Longeretta, Variety, 3 Sep. 2025
  • To be this close over and over is really bumming me out.
    Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • On the chopping block In the summer of 2025, Senior Community Service Employment Program grant recipients across the country began to furlough their staff.
    Cal J. Halvorsen, The Conversation, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Spirit’s cost-cutting efforts continued after emerging from bankruptcy protection in March, including plans to furlough about 270 pilots and downgrade some 140 captains to first officers in the coming months.
    Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • But while the new movie dawdles on its way to Toxie’s origins, then rushes toward a finale with a lurching rhythm that verges on calculated ineptitude, its spirit never feels inauthentic.
    Alison Willmore, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
  • Further, there’s no excuse for Congress to continue dawdling on farm policy.
    The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Play croquet or shuffleboard on the property, head down to the beach and laze under one of the hotel’s cabanas, or borrow a bicycle to cruise into town.
    Sophie Friedman, AFAR Media, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Located on the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, Los Cabos is a great destination to laze about beachside or go on a deep-sea excursion.
    Essence, Essence, 25 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Hurricanes explained by Ginger Zee Don't be fooled by the lack of tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Basin.
    Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2025
  • After driving his team to the 1-yard line, Fields fooled the entire Steelers defense on a fourth down, faking a handoff and then high-stepping into the end zone untouched to take a 32-31 lead.
    Mike DeFabo, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Truant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/truant. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.

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