“absently” 意为“心不在焉地;出神地;漫不经心地”。常用来描述一个人注意力不集中、神游或机械性地做事的状态。(另有较少见用法可指“缺席地”,但不常用。)
/ˈæbs(ə)ntli/
She nodded absently while reading her messages.
她一边看消息一边心不在焉地点了点头。
He absently reached for his keys, only to realize they were still on the kitchen counter, as his mind replayed the argument from earlier.
他心不在焉地伸手去摸钥匙,却发现钥匙还在厨房台面上,因为他的脑海还在反复回放先前的争吵。
源自形容词 “absent”(缺席的;心不在焉的),其词根来自拉丁语 absens(不在场的),由 *ab-*(离开)+ esse(存在)构成;加上副词后缀 -ly 形成 “absently”,表示“以缺席/不在心的方式”。