Adjacent Words

Presence definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PRES'ENCE, n. s as z. [L. proesentia; proe, before, and esse, to be.] The existence of a person or thing in a certain place; opposed to absence. This event happened during the king's presence at the theater. In examining the patient, the presence of fever was not observed. The presence of God is not limited to any place.
1. A being in company near or before the face of another. We were gratified with the presence of a person so much respected.
2. Approach face to face or nearness of a great personage.
Men that very presence fear,
Which once they knew authority did bear.
3. State of being in view; sight. An accident happened in the presence of the court.
4. By way of distinction, state of being in view of a superior.
I know not by what pow'r I am made bold,
In such a presence here to plead my thoughts.
5. A number assembled before a great person.
Odmar, of all this presence does contain,
Give her your wreath whom you esteem most fair.
6. Port; mien; air; personal appearance; demeanor.
Virtue is best in a body that is comely, and that has rather dignity of presence, than beauty of aspect.
A graceful presence bespeaks acceptance.
7. The apartment in which a prince shows himself to his court.
An't please your grace, the two great cardinals.
Wait in the presence.
8. The person of a superior.
Presence of mind, a calm, collected state of the mind with its faculties at command; undisturbed state of the thoughts, which enables a person to speak or act without disorder or embarrassment in unexpected difficulties.
Errors, not to be recalled, do find
Their best redress from presence of the mind.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the state of being present; current existence; "he tested for the presence of radon" [ant: absence]
2: the immediate proximity of someone or something; "she blushed in his presence"; "he sensed the presence of danger"; "he was well behaved in front of company" [syn: presence, front]
3: an invisible spiritual being felt to be nearby
4: the impression that something is present; "he felt the presence of an evil force"
5: dignified manner or conduct [syn: bearing, comportment, presence, mien]
6: the act of being present [ant: absence]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 14th century 1. the fact or condition of being present 2. a. the part of space within one's immediate vicinity b. the neighborhood of one of superior especially royal rank 3. archaic company 2a 4. one that is present: as a. the actual person or thing that is present b. something present of a visible or concrete nature 5. a. the bearing, carriage, or air of a person; especially stately or distinguished bearing b. a noteworthy quality of poise and effectiveness <the actor's commanding presence> 6. something (as a spirit) felt or believed to be present

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 the state or condition of being present (your presence is requested). 2 a place where a person is (was admitted to their presence). 3 a a person's appearance or bearing, esp. when imposing (an august presence). b a person's force of personality (esp. have presence). 4 a person or thing that is present (the royal presence; there was a presence in the room). 5 representation for reasons of political influence (maintained a presence). Phrases and idioms: in the presence of in front of; observed by. presence chamber a room in which a monarch or other distinguished person receives visitors. presence of mind calmness and self-command in sudden difficulty etc. Etymology: ME f. OF f. L praesentia (as PRESENT(1))

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Presence Pres"ence, n. [F. pr['e]sence, L. praesentia. See Present.] 1. The state of being present, or of being within sight or call, or at hand; -- opposed to absence. 2. The place in which one is present; the part of space within one's ken, call, influence, etc.; neighborhood without the intervention of anything that forbids intercourse. Wrath shell be no more Thenceforth, but in thy presence joy entire. --Milton. 3. Specifically, neighborhood to the person of one of superior of exalted rank; also, presence chamber. In such a presence here to plead my thoughts. --Shak. An't please your grace, the two great cardinals. Wait in the presence. --Shak. 4. The whole of the personal qualities of an individual; person; personality; especially, the person of a superior, as a sovereign. The Sovran Presence thus replied. --Milton. 5. An assembly, especially of person of rank or nobility; noble company. Odmar, of all this presence does contain, Give her your wreath whom you esteem most fair. --Dryden. 6. Port, mien; air; personal appearence. ``Rather dignity of presence than beauty of aspect.'' --Bacon. A graceful presence bespeaks acceptance. -- Collier. Presence chamber, or Presence room, the room in which a great personage receives company. --Addison. `` Chambers of presence.'' --Bacon. Presence of mind, that state of the mind in which all its faculties are alert, prompt, and acting harmoniously in obedience to the will, enabling one to reach, as it were spontaneously or by intuition, just conclusions in sudden emergencies.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(presences) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. Someone's presence in a place is the fact that they are there. They argued that his presence in the village could only stir up trouble... Her Majesty later honoured the Headmaster with her presence at lunch. ? absence N-SING: with poss 2. If you say that someone has presence, you mean that they impress people by their appearance and manner. Hendrix's stage presence appealed to thousands of teenage rebels. N-UNCOUNT: oft supp N [approval] 3. A presence is a person or creature that you cannot see, but that you are aware of. (LITERARY) She started to be affected by the ghostly presence she could feel in the house. N-COUNT 4. If a country has a military presence in another country, it has some of its armed forces there. The Philippine government wants the US to maintain a military presence in Southeast Asia. N-SING: usu supp N 5. If you refer to the presence of a substance in another thing, you mean that it is in that thing. The somewhat acid flavour is caused by the presence of lactic acid. ? absence N-UNCOUNT: with poss 6. If you are in someone's presence, you are in the same place as that person, and are close enough to them to be seen or heard. The talks took place in the presence of a diplomatic observer. PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

prez'-ens: In the Old Testament nearly always the rendition of panim, "face" (Ge 3:8; Ex 33:14 f; Ps 95:2; Isa 63:9, etc.); occasionally of `ayin, "eye" (Ge 23:11; De 25:9; Jer 28:1,11, etc.); and in 1Ki 8:22; Pr 14:7, "the presence of" represents the preposition neghedh, "before"; compare also Aramaic qodham, in Da 2:27 the King James Version (the Revised Version (British and American) "before"). In Greek, "presence" has an exact equivalent in parousia, but this word is rendered "presence" only in 2Co 10:10; Php 2:12; the Revised Version (British and American); Php 1:26 (the King James Version "coming"). Elsewhere parousia is rendered "coming," but always with "presence" in the margin. Otherwise in the New Testament "presence" represents no particular word but is introduced where it seems to suit the context (compare e.g. Ac 3:13 the King James Version and Ac 3:19).

See PAROUSIA.

Burton Scott Easton

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Nearness, neighborhood, vicinity. 2. Personality. 3. Mien, air, appearance, carriage, port, demeanor. 4. Presence-chamber, state-room.

Moby Thesaurus

Masan, action, actions, activity, acts, address, adjacency, affectation, air, alertness, aplomb, apparition, appearance, aspect, association, astral, astral spirit, attendance, aura, banshee, bearing, behavior, behavior pattern, behavioral norm, behavioral science, being, brow, calm, carriage, cast, cast of countenance, closeness, color, companionship, company, complexion, comportment, composure, conduct, confidence, control, cool, coolness, countenance, culture pattern, custom, demeanor, departed spirit, deportment, disembodied spirit, doing, doings, duppy, dybbuk, eidolon, ens, entity, equanimity, esse, essence, existence, face, facial appearance, false image, fantasy, favor, feature, features, figure, folkway, form, garb, gestures, ghost, goings-on, grateful dead, guide, guise, hant, haunt, idolum, image, immateriality, imperturbability, incorporeal, incorporeal being, incorporeity, larva, lemures, level-headedness, life, lineaments, lines, look, looks, maintien, manes, manifestation, manifestness, manner, manners, materiality, materialization, method, methodology, methods, mien, mirage, modus vivendi, motions, movements, moves, nearness, observable behavior, occurrence, oni, pattern, personality, phantasm, phantasma, phantasmagoria, phantom, phasm, phenomenon, phlegm, physiognomy, poise, poltergeist, port, pose, posture, practice, praxis, presence of mind, procedure, proceeding, propinquity, proximity, quick-wittedness, revenant, sang-froid, seeming, self-assurance, self-possession, set, shade, shadow, shape, shrouded spirit, social science, society, sophistication, specter, spectral ghost, spirit, spook, sprite, stance, style, subsistence, substantiality, tactics, theophany, tone, traits, turn, unsubstantiality, vicinity, visage, vision, waking dream, walking dead man, wandering soul, way, way of life, ways, wildest dream, wraith, zombie