adjective
absent, not present
B1
abwesend: adjective meaning 'absent' or 'not present'. Opposite of 'anwesend'. Gradable: comparative 'abwesender', superlative 'am abwesendsten'. Commonly used predicatively (e.g. 'er ist abwesend'). Not a participle here; no special preposition. Used in attendance contexts (school, meetings) and in descriptions of behaviour.
Examples
Der Schüler war abwesend, weil er sich am Morgen krank gefühlt hatte.
The pupil was absent because he had felt ill in the morning.
Der Lehrer ist heute abwesend.
The teacher is absent today.
Mehrere Mitglieder waren bei der Sitzung abwesend.
Several members were not present at the meeting.
Details
Mnemonics
Picture an empty chair labeled 'absent' with a small 'ab' sticker to show they're away
sounds like 'ab-when-sent' (someone away when sent)
Notes
Commonly used to describe people who are not present at an event or in a place. Can function predicatively (Er ist abwesend) and attributively (ein abwesender Schüler) though attributive use is less frequent.