The characters and their actions are inscrutable, made even more so by the near-total absence of dialogue.

There is also a near-total absence of network interference.

He says it's the near-total absence of competition.

Perhaps it was the near-total absence of cars at this hour.

Plus a great deal of imagination, to compensate for a near-total absence of money.

The only good news was the near-total absence of traffic.

Also striking was the near-total absence of affection or respect for the President.

The cables still lay buried in the desert, protected by the shifting sands and a near-total absence of rainfall.

And it enabled the filmmakers to turn a near-total absence of resources into a creative advantage.

From the way they moved Geordi could tell that they had no trouble with the near-total absence of visible light.