non-appearance

The defendant's non-appearance in court caused a delay.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • Failure to appear: "non-appearance" refers to the state or fact of not arriving or being present, especially in a legal context where a person who is required to attend a court hearing or official proceeding does not show up.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The judge issued a warrant due to the defendant's non-appearance at the trial. (The defendant failed to come to court as required.)
  • Non-appearance at the scheduled meeting may result in a penalty. (Not showing up for the meeting could lead to a fine or negative consequence.)

Advanced Usage

• "Non-appearance in court": a specific legal term for a party's absence from a judicial proceeding.
  • The lawyer cited the client's illness as the reason for non-appearance in court. (The lawyer explained that the client was sick and could not attend.)

Variants and Related Words

• Appearance (n): the act of arriving or becoming visible.

  • Her appearance at the party surprised everyone. (She came to the party unexpectedly.)

• Non-appearing (adj): describing someone or something that does not appear.

  • The non-appearing witness could not be found. (The witness who did not show up could not be located.)

Synonyms

• Absence: the state of being away from a place or person.
• Default: failure to fulfill an obligation, especially to appear in court.

Related Idioms

• To stand someone up: (informal) to fail to meet someone as arranged.
  • He stood her up on their date — a case of non-appearance in social terms. (He did not show up for the date.)