absent without leave

adjective

: absent without authority from one's place of duty in the armed forces

Examples of absent without leave in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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More than 50,000 Russian troops have deserted and gone absent without leave since Russia widened its war on Ukraine three years ago, according to a new report from Ukrainian analysis group Frontelligence Insight. David Axe, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025 Separately, the commander of another brigade, the 155th, was arrested and charged with actions that led to large numbers of members of his brigade going absent without leave at the time when Ukraine’s military is badly lacking people. Maria Varenikova, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2025 Her opponent was on the ropes and there for the taking but there is a tendency for the week-to-week consistency to go absent without leave on the biggest of stages. Tim Ellis, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025 But around 1,700 of those 5,800 troops went absent without leave from the brigade at some point during its nine-month work-up in western Ukraine, Poland and France. David Axe, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for absent without leave

Word History

First Known Use

1743, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of absent without leave was in 1743

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Cite this Entry

“Absent without leave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/absent%20without%20leave. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.

Legal Definition

absent without leave

ab·​sent with·​out leave
: absent from one's place of duty in the armed forces without authority
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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