This is the 5374th most frequent Russian word.
отсутствовала
"Отсутствовала" means "was absent" in English.
The word 'отсутствовала' here indicates the action of Maria being absent from work, referring to her not being present.
Вчера Мария отсутствовала на работе.
Yesterday Maria was absent from work.
In this sentence, 'отсутствовал' is used to describe the situation of my friend not attending the meeting, highlighting the reason for the absence.
На последней встрече мой друг отсутствовал из-за болезни.
At the last meeting, my friend was absent due to illness.
Here, 'отсутствовала' communicates the duration of absence of the student during the lesson, implying the necessity of catching up on missed learning material.