I. ˈtrüənt noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, vagrant, beggar, of Celtic origin; akin to Welsh tru, truan miserable, wretched, truan wretch, Old Irish trōg miserable, Scottish Gaelic truaghan miserable person, truagh wretched
1. obsolete : an idle vagrant : vagabond
2. : one who stays away from business or shirks duty ; especially : one who stays out of school without permission
Synonyms: see vagabond
II. adjective
1. : wandering from business or duty : shirking responsibility : idle ; especially : absent from school without permission
2. : resembling or characteristic of a truant
try to govern this truant pen — C.B.Fairbanks
• tru·ant·ly adverb
III. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English traunten, from truant vagrant
intransitive verb
: to idle away time especially while shirking some duty : willfully neglect a required task : absent oneself without permission
have truanted so much that … many can't do more than second-grade reading — Marjorie Rittwagen
transitive verb
: to waste or fritter away : play truant from