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View synonyms for absent without leave

absent without leave

adjective

  1. military the full form of AWOL


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Idioms and Phrases

Away without permission or explanation, as in Her daughter went to the mall but got in trouble for being absent without leave . The term and its acronym, AWOL , originated in the American military during World War I for soldiers absent from duty without permission (leave). It later was transferred to civilian situations, as in John didn't just cut his Tuesday classes; he went AWOL .

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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