Why had she automatically assumed that there was something sinister about the seeming absence of Brognola's wife?

Wyoming, I reminded myself, is the least-populated state; perhaps that explains the seeming absence of all forms of pollution.

Many of those who watched the Iran-contra testimony unfold in 1987 were struck by the seeming absence of other people in Government faulting Mr. North for his actions.

Though he appeared no longer bent on seduction, nor even aware of her seeming absence, Isabel knew she was no match for his strength.

The message was clear: the embarrassing snub to the United States could be attributed to a seeming absence of "dialogue and respect" in the Bush administration's approach to the outside world.

The Brink of Disaster - the title of the second episode, arbitrarily adopted for a fan list in the seeming absence of anything else.

Despite the seeming absence of security precautions, he took nothing for granted.

The seeming absence of clear, serious threats to success is almost a source of anxiety to an eradication effort that has battled polio in India for decades, always losing.

But for a member of the clergy to take questions during a worship service - about faith, sexual morality and the seeming absence of God amid suffering - is unusual, to say the least.

The police are confounded by the seeming absence of motive - not for the murder itself - but for the atrocity of the murder.