VocabauraVOCABAURA

presence

noun

Simple meaning

Being present, or of being within sight or call, or at hand.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

prehzuhns

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈpɹɛzəns

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. The state of being present; current existence

    “He tested for the presence of radon.”

  2. The act of being present

  3. The fact or condition of being present, or of being within sight or call, or at hand.

  4. The impression that something is present

  5. An invisible spiritual being felt to be nearby

  6. The part of space within one's immediate vicinity.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The state of being present; current existence

Used this way, presence is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“He tested for the presence of radon.”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Usage note

It most often appears in the pattern “presence of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.

Natural pattern: presence of …

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use presence

  • “He tested for the presence of radon.”noun

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “presence”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Present / impression

real presence

Spirit

physical presence

Other combinations

divine presencemilitary presencemere presencepresence felt

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • presence of mindnounCompound term

    Self-control in a crisis.

  • presence chambernounCompound term

    Room in which a monarch or other great person receives guests, assemblies, etc.

  • real presencenounCompound term

    The Christian doctrine that the body of Christ is actually present in the Eucharist.

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “presence” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.