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in absentia

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in absentia

  (formal)

if something happens to someone in absentia, they are not present when it happens to them The court convicted her in absentia and fined her $500.

in absentia

While not present, as in He was tried and convicted in absentia, or He was awarded his degree in absentia. This expression is Latin for "in absence"; its use in English dates from the late 1800s.