Abstracted.
Synonyms:
| absent, | heedless, | listless, | preoccupied, |
| absent-minded, | inattentive, | negligent, | thoughtless. |
| absorbed, | indifferent, | oblivious, | |
As regards mental action, absorbed, abstracted, and preoccupied refer to the cause, absent or absent-minded to the effect. The man absorbed in one thing will appear absent in others. A preoccupied person may seem listless and thoughtless, but the really listless and thoughtless have not mental energy to be preoccupied. The absent-minded man is oblivious of ordinary matters, because his thoughts are elsewhere. One who is preoccupied is intensely busy in thought; one may be absent-minded either through intense concentration or simply through inattention, with fitful and aimless wandering of thought. Compare ABSTRACT.
Antonyms:
| alert, | on hand, | ready, | wide-awake. |
| attentive, | prompt, | thoughtful, |