What does presence mean?
Word: Presence
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Presence means being in a place, or being there with someone. It can also mean the quiet, confident way a person makes others notice them.
Synonyms: attendance, company, existence
How do you spell presence?
Syllables: pres - ence
Tricky part: The vowel before the n is e, not a, and the s in the middle sounds like z but is never written z. Many students write presance because the last syllable sounds unclear.
Watch out for: presance, presnce, pressence
Memory tip: Presence keeps the e of present: present, presence - the same e sits after the s in both words.
Idioms and Phrases
- presence of mind: the ability to think and act quickly and calmly in a sudden problem Example: "With great presence of mind, Kabir caught the glass jug before it hit the floor."
Presence in a sentence
Example 1: The presence of a peacock in the garden sent the children rushing to the window.
Example 2: Your presence is requested at the prize distribution on Friday.
Example 3: Grandfather has such a calm presence that the whole family settles down when he speaks.
Fun Fact
Presence goes back to the Latin praesentia, built from prae, meaning before, and a form of esse, to be - being before someone.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word 'presence' as used in the sentence:
The teacher's presence in the hall kept the children quiet throughout the long assembly.
a) appearance
b) arrival
c) nearness
d) absence
Show answer
d) absence. Presence means being there, so its opposite is absence; nearness and appearance both point to someone being there, and arrival is only the moment someone comes.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence and choose the word they make:
Her calm ecnespre on stage helped the nervous young actors relax.
a) presence
b) prescience
c) prudence
d) pretence
Show answer
a) presence. The jumble has an s and no t, i, u or d, which rules out pretence, prescience and prudence.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The chief guest's presense at our annual day made the whole school proud.
a) presense
b) annual
c) proud
d) chief
Show answer
a) presense. The last sound of presence is written ce, as in fence; presense ends in se.
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly and one is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. greivance 2. patience 3. presence 4. existence
a) a feeling of having been treated unfairly
b) the ability to wait calmly
c) the fact of being in a place
d) the state of being real or alive
Show answer
a) a feeling of having been treated unfairly. Grievance takes ie, just like grief, the word it grew from.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A wedding card asks for 'the pleasure of your presence'. It is asking you to ____.
a) come to the wedding
b) send a gift by post
c) write a short speech
d) help with the cooking
Show answer
a) come to the wedding
2. Which sentence uses presence correctly?
a) Her presence at the meeting surprised everyone.
b) He gave me a lovely presence for my birthday.
c) The presence of the train was ten minutes late.
d) I will presence the award at the function.
Show answer
a) Her presence at the meeting surprised everyone.
