truant
truant Lexical Profile
truant Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A student who stays away from school without leave or explanation; more generally, a person who shirks or neglects their duty.
"The attendance officer was tasked with contacting the parents of habitual truants."
• adjective
Absent from school or duty without permission; shirking one's responsibilities.
"The school counselor met with the truant students to understand the root causes of their absences."
Wandering, straying, or idle (often used figuratively of thoughts or attention).
"She struggled to bring her truant thoughts back to the complex legal document in front of her."
• verb
To stay away from school or duty without permission; to play truant.
"Several teenagers were caught truanting at the shopping mall during school hours."
• Rhymes for truant
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Old French 'truant' (meaning 'beggar', 'vagabond', or 'rogue'), likely of Celtic origin (compare Welsh 'truan', meaning 'wretched' or 'miserable'). The sense shifted in the 15th century from an idle vagrant to a student absent from school without permission.