The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word WITHDREW
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
W
I
T
H
D
R
E
W
More clues leading to the result WITHDREW
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Absented oneself" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case absented oneself = withdrew.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does WITHDREW mean?
WITHDREW verb- To pull (something) back, aside, or away.
- To stop talking to, or interacting with, other people and start thinking thoughts that are not related to what is happening around.
- To take back (a comment, etc); retract.
- To remove, to stop providing (one's support, etc); to take out of service.
- To extract (money from an account).
- To retreat.
- To be in withdrawal from an addictive drug etc.