absent-mindedly

comparative more absent-mindedly · superlative most absent-mindedly

1. mannerPreoccupiedly; in an absent-minded manner.First known use First attested in the late 19ᵗʰ century.

   On the same highway, I once absent-mindedly cut in front of this enormous jacked-up pickup truck.

   2024 June 10, Thomas Lake, “17 years later, I still remember this act of kindness from another driver”, in CNN

   1 more example

   Professor Archimedes Q. Porter, his hands clasped beneath the tails of his long coat, paces back and forth under the ever-watchful eye of his faithful secretary, Mr. Samuel T. Philander. Twice within the past few minutes he has started absent-mindedly across the tracks in the direction of a near-by swamp, only to be rescued and dragged back by the tireless Mr. Philander.

   1913 June–December, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Ships That Pass”, in The Return of Tarzan, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, […], published March 1915, →OCLC, page 154

   Synonyms: absently, abstractedly