Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Failure of a party or witness to appear in court when required by law or process to be present.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Failure or neglect to make an appearance; default of appearance, as in court, to prosecute or defend.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Default of appearance, as in court, to prosecute or defend; failure to appear.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A failure to appear, especially in a trial

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun failure to appear (especially as at court)

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • News of Gen. Meade's victory over Gen. Lee destroyed the last effort by the Confederacy to win recognition in Parliament, but the celebration at the U.S. Embassy was muted by the staff's puzzlement over the nonappearance of the weekly mail ship from New York.

    Turning Messy History Into a Tale Amanda Foreman 2011

  • "You'd rather have the witnesses not appear and tax the government on their nonappearance."

    Blagojevich Judge Puts Defense on Short Leash 2010

  • At first its nonappearance did not worry me much, for I attributed the delay to the bad weather, and supposed Colonel Crawford had wisely laid up during the worst storms.

    She Makes Her Mouth Small & Round & Other Stories 2010

  • Attention will be paid to Tiger's appearance or nonappearance at that event.

    CNN Transcript Nov 27, 2009 2009

  • Did he mean my nonappearance at the campaign kickoff or Ricks party?

    The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading Charity Tahmaseb 2009

  • Attention will be paid to Tiger's appearance or nonappearance at that event -- which just goes to show how watching Tiger and what he does on and off the golf course is now an international pastime.

    CNN Transcript Nov 28, 2009 2009

  • Regardless the people named may not be relevant to the issue of Obama's appearance or nonappearance before a particular group.

    Obama's Wooing Of Evangelicals Runs Into Fierce Resistance 2009

  • Did he mean my nonappearance at the campaign kickoff or Ricks party?

    The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading Charity Tahmaseb 2009

  • Attention will be paid to Tiger's appearance or nonappearance at that event, which just goes to show how watching Tiger what he does on and off the golf course is now an international past time.

    CNN Transcript Nov 28, 2009 2009

  • Hugh in mournful discourse with Edgar upon the nonappearance of Dr. Orkborne.

    Camilla 2008

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