Nieobecne

Nieobecne is a Polish adjective meaning absent or not present. It is formed by prefixing nie- to obecny, the stem meaning present or existing. The word functions as an adjective and agrees with the noun it modifies in gender and number. In common morphological forms, the masculine singular is nieobecny, the feminine singular is nieobecna, and the neuter singular is nieobecne. In plural, the masculine personal form is nieobecni, while the feminine plural and the neuter plural are both nieobecne. This means the same form nieobecne can be used with feminine plural nouns such as osoby and with neuter plural nouns, while nieobecni is used with masculine personal nouns.

Usage of nieobecne is typical in formal and semi-formal contexts, such as attendance lists, meeting minutes, rosters, and official records, to describe persons or things that are not present. It often appears in constructions like nieobecne osoby (absent persons) or na zajęciach nieobecne były trzy osoby (three people were absent at the class). The adjective may also function in a broader sense to indicate that certain items, days, or elements are not present or not available, not merely people.

Etymology-wise, nieobecne derives from obecny (present) with the negating prefix nie-, a common productive formation in Polish. It reflects the distinction between present and absent as a state or condition in discourse.

See also: obecność (presence), nieobecność (absence), obecny (present).