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Definition of presence - 4 dictionary results

pres⋅ence

  [prez-uhns]
Use presence in a Sentence
–noun
1. the state or fact of being present, as with others or in a place.
2. attendance or company: Your presence is requested.
3. immediate vicinity; proximity: in the presence of witnesses.
4. the military or economic power of a country as reflected abroad by the stationing of its troops, sale of its goods, etc.: the American military presence in Europe; the Japanese presence in the U.S. consumer market.
5. Chiefly British. the immediate personal vicinity of a great personage giving audience or reception: summoned to her presence.
6. the ability to project a sense of ease, poise, or self-assurance, esp. the quality or manner of a person's bearing before an audience: The speaker had a good deal of stage presence.
7. personal appearance or bearing, esp. of a dignified or imposing kind: a man of fine presence.
8. a person, esp. of noteworthy appearance or compelling personality: He is a real presence, even at a private party.
9. a divine or supernatural spirit felt to be present: He felt a presence with him in the room.
10. British Obsolete. presence chamber.
Origin:
1300–50; ME < MF < L praesentia. See present 1 , -ence

Synonyms:
3. neighborhood. 6. carriage, mien.

Antonyms:
1. absence.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pres·ence   (prěz'əns)   
n.  
  1. The state or fact of being present; current existence or occurrence.
  2. Immediate proximity in time or space.
  3. The area immediately surrounding a great personage, especially a sovereign.
  4. A person who is present.
    1. A person's bearing, especially when it commands respectful attention: "He continues to possess the presence, mental as well as physical, of the young man" (Brendan Gill).
    2. The quality of self-assurance and effectiveness that permits a performer to achieve a rapport with the audience: stage presence.
  6. A supernatural influence felt to be nearby.
  7. The diplomatic, political, or military influence of a nation in a foreign country, especially as evidenced by the posting of its diplomats or its troops there: "The American diplomatic presence in London began in 1785 when John Adams became our first minister" (Nancy Holmes).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : presence
Spanish: presencia,
German: die Gegenwart,
Japanese: 出席
More Translations »

presence 
c.1330, "fact of being present," from O.Fr. presence (12c.), from L. præsentia "a being present," from præsentem (see present (n.)). Meaning "carriage, demeanor, aspect" (especially if impressive) is from 1579; that of "divine, spiritual or incorporeal being felt as present" is from 1667. Presence of mind (1665) is a loan-transl. of Fr. présence d'esprit, L. præsentia animi.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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