List of Absence Quotes in English with Images

Absence quotes eloquently encapsulate the profound emotional weight that accompanies feelings of distance and longing. They delve deeply into the intricate tapestry of human emotions, often articulating the complex interplay of pain and beauty that arises from separation. These thought-provoking expressions serve as poignant reminders of how absence can paradoxically heighten our appreciation for those we miss, illustrating a unique truth: the very distance that separates us can, in fact, intensify our love and longing for others.

Within the realm of literature, absence quotes are often found, offering insightful reflections on the nature of missing someone dear. They capture the essence of nostalgia and yearning, resonating strongly with anyone who has felt the ache of separation from a significant person in their life. Many of these expressions translate seamlessly into personal letters, where they can convey deep emotions and sentiments that might otherwise be difficult to articulate. Likewise, on social media platforms, absence quotes can succinctly encapsulate feelings of longing, allowing individuals to share their experiences with a broader audience.

These quotes do more than merely express sadness; they evoke a sense of connection that transcends physical distance. They remind us of the bonds we share, even when those we love are not physically present. Each quote acts as a powerful testament to the enduring nature of love, evoking emotions that may go beyond the capabilities of everyday language. Through these carefully crafted words, we find reflections that resonate with our innermost feelings, encapsulating the truth that, even in absence, love remains a potent, vibrant force in our lives.

Quotes about absence often explore themes of longing, love, time, loss, and the impact of someone's presence or lack thereof. Below are some detailed quotes on absence, along with an exploration of their deeper meaning:

1. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." — Anonymous

  • Meaning: This well-known proverb suggests that when someone or something is not around, we tend to appreciate them or it more. The absence creates a space for reflection, allowing us to realize the true value of what is missing. It applies to relationships, friendships, and even places or experiences. It emphasizes the role of distance and time in enhancing emotional connections.

2. "The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again." — Charles Dickens

  • Meaning: This quote conveys that although saying goodbye and experiencing separation can be painful, the joy and anticipation of reunion outweigh the sadness. It implies that absence is temporary, and the reunion will bring happiness. It’s often used in the context of long-distance relationships or when friends and family members part ways.

3. "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." — A.A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh)

  • Meaning: This quote from Winnie the Pooh speaks to the beauty of meaningful relationships. It suggests that the difficulty of parting or experiencing absence is a reflection of how important and cherished the bond is. Absence, in this case, is seen as a bittersweet emotion tied to the depth of connection.

4. "Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fires." — François de La Rochefoucauld

  • Meaning: This quote delves into the intensity of feelings in the face of absence. Mediocre relationships or feelings may fade when distance is involved, much like how a small flame is extinguished by wind. However, true passion and love grow stronger in the face of separation, just as a large fire grows when fanned. It speaks to the test of absence on the strength of emotions.

5. "Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it." — Thomas Fuller

  • Meaning: This quote highlights the dual nature of love, which can both thrive in absence and grow through presence. Absence provides the time and distance needed for reflection and longing, which can enhance feelings. On the other hand, being present with someone allows for the bond to deepen through shared experiences. It acknowledges that both absence and presence play unique roles in strengthening relationships.

6. "You can love someone so much, but you can never love people as much as you can miss them." — John Green

  • Meaning: From An Abundance of Katherines, this quote highlights how absence intensifies the feeling of missing someone. It suggests that love is a powerful force, but the emotions evoked by someone's absence can sometimes feel even stronger than love itself. This quote resonates with the idea that loss or distance magnifies feelings of longing.

7. "There is love in holding and there is love in letting go." — Elizabeth Berg

  • Meaning: This quote explores the concept of love in both presence and absence. Love isn’t only about being together; it also involves the ability to let go and allow space when necessary. It suggests that absence can be an expression of love, indicating a willingness to trust, release, and allow growth.

8. "The longer the absence, the deeper the love." — French Proverb

  • Meaning: This proverb reinforces the idea that time and distance can deepen feelings of love and affection. It implies that enduring periods of separation can lead to a greater appreciation of a relationship and a stronger emotional bond.

9. "Sometimes, when one person is missing, the whole world seems depopulated." — Alphonse de Lamartine

  • Meaning: This quote speaks to the overwhelming sense of loss that can be felt when someone important is absent. It emphasizes the emotional impact that one person's absence can have, making the world feel empty or less meaningful. It portrays how integral some relationships are to one’s sense of completeness.

10. "Absence blots people out. We really have no absent friends." — Elizabeth Bowen

  • Meaning: This quote offers a different perspective on absence, suggesting that absence can cause people to fade from our consciousness. The implication is that out of sight, out of mind. It contrasts with the more common idea that absence strengthens relationships, proposing instead that distance may lead to forgetting or emotional detachment.

Key Themes Explored in Absence Quotes:

  • Longing and Love: Many absence quotes touch on the idea that absence enhances feelings of love and desire, leading to a deeper appreciation of the person or thing that is missed.

  • The Strength of Bonds: Absence tests the strength of relationships, often leading to revelations about the true depth of connection.

  • Time and Distance: Quotes about absence often consider the effects of time and space, either as a healer, a test of endurance, or a way to sharpen feelings.

  • Bittersweet Nature: The duality of joy and pain is present in many absence quotes, highlighting both the sadness of separation and the happiness of reunions.

Absence, therefore, serves as a profound emotional trigger, often revealing hidden depths in relationships and experiences.

I was court-martial in my absence, and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence.

- Brendan F. Behan 1923 - 1964, Irish Writer Download or Share

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.

- Mark Twain (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer) Download or Share

Absence blots people out.  We really have no absent friends.

- Elizabeth Bowen 1899-1973, Anglo - Irish Novelist Download or Share

Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it.

- Thomas Fuller 1608 - 1661, British Clergyman, Author Download or Share

The people who are absent are the ideal; those who are present seem to be quiet commonplace.

- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe 1749 - 1832, German Poet, Dramatist, Novelist Download or Share

Talk well of the absent whenever you have the opportunity.

- Sir Matthew Hale 1609-1676, British Judge Download or Share

Achilles absent was Achilles still!

- Homer c.850 - ? BC, Greek Epic Poet Download or Share

Now man is so perfect, so necessary to his friends, as to give them no cause to miss him less.

- Jean De La BruyFre 1645-1696, French Classical Writer Download or Share

Separation penetrates the disappearing person like a pigment and steeps him in gentle radiance.

- Walter Benjamin 1982 - 1940, German Critic, Philosopher Download or Share

Woman absent is woman dead.

-Ambrose Bierce 1842 - 1914, America Author, Editor, Journalist, "The Devil's Dictionary" Download or Share

Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great.

- Comte DeBussy-Rabutin Download or Share

Absence - that common cure of love.

- Miguel De Cervantes 1547 - 1616, Spanish Novelist, Dramatist, Poet Download or Share

Absence does not make the heart grow fonder, but it sure heats up the blood.

-  Elizabeth Ashley American Actress

Absence does not make the heart grow fonder, but it sure heats up the blood.

- Elizabeth Ashley American Actress Download or Share

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

-  Thomas Haynes Bayly

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

- Absence Quotes by Thomas Haynes Bayly 1791-1839, British Writer, Poet Download or Share

Our hours in love have wings; in absence, crutches. 

- Colley Cibber

Our hours in love have wings; in absence, crutches.

- Colley Cibber 1671 - 1757, British Actor-Manager, Playwright Download or Share

Absence from whom we love is worse than death, and frustrates hope severer than despair.

- William Cowper 1731 - 1800, British Poet

Absence of proof is not proof of absence.

-Michael Crichton 1942 American Writer, Novelist, Screenwriter, Director, Producer

The absent are never without fault.  Nor the present without excuse.

- Benjamin Franklin 1706 - 1790, American Scientist, Publisher, Diplomat

When a man is out of sight, it is not too long before he is out of mind.

- Thomas p Kempis 1379 - 1471, German Monk, Mystic, Religious Writer

Absence diminishes little passions and increases great ones, as wind extinguishes candles and fans a fire.

-Francois De La Rochefoucauld 1613 - 1680, French Classical Writer

The longest absence is less perilous to love than the terrible trails of incessant proximity.

- Ouida 1838 - 1908, British Writer

A short absence is the safest.

-Ovid BC 43-18 AD, Roman Poet

Absence and a friendly neighbor washes away love.

-Proverb

Never find fault with absent.

-Proverb

Parting is such sweet sorrow.

- Absence Quotes by William Shakespeare 1564 - 1616, British Poet, Playwright, Actor

Greater things are believed of those who are absent.

- Publius Cornelius Tacitus 55 - 117 AD

Failing to be there when a man wants her is a woman's greatest sin, except to be there when he doesn't want her.

-Helen Rowland 1875-1950, American Journalist

It takes time for the absent to assume their true shape in our thoughts.  After death they take on a firmer outline and then cease to change.

- Sidonie Gabrielle Colette 1873-1954, French Author

No more we meet in yonder bowers Absence has made me prone to riving; But older, firmer hearts than ours, Have found monotony in loving. 

-Lord Byron 1788-1824, British Poet

Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling in at night.  I miss you like hell.

-Edna St. Vincent Millay 1892 - 1950, American Poet

Let me tell you I am better acquainted with you for a long absence, as men are with themselves for a long affliction: absence does but hold off a friend, to make one see him the truer.

-Alexander Pope 1688-1744,

When delicate and felling souls are separated, there is not a feature in the sky, not a movement of the elements, not an aspiration of the breeze, but hints some cause for a lover's apprehension.

-Richard Brinsley Sheridan 1751 - 1816, Anglo-Irish Dramatist

How like a winter hath my absence been. From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year! What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen, What old December's bareness everywhere!

- William Shakespeare 1564 - 1616, British Poet, Playwright, Actor

The heart may think it known better: the senses known that absence blots people out.  We really have no absent friends. The friend becomes a traitor by breaking, however Unwillingly or sadly, out of our own zone: a hard judgment is passed on him, for all the pleas of the heart.

- Elizabeth Bowen 1899 - 1973, Anglo - Irish Novelist

Separated lovers cheat absence by a thousand fancies which have their own reality.  They are prevented from seeing one another and they cannot write; nevertheless they find countless mysterious ways of corresponding, by sending each other the song of birds, the scent of flowers, the laughter of children, the light of the sun, the sighing of the wind, and the gleam of the stars - all the beauties of creation.

- Victor Hugo 1802 - 1885, French Poet, Dramatist, Novelist