missing parent
Vanished mother or father
A missing parent is a parent element that should exist in a hierarchical structure but doesn't—most often in computing contexts like HTML or XML, where child elements lack their expected container.
The term also describes a parent absent from a child's life, whether through death, abandonment, or unknown identity: She spent years searching for her missing parent.
- absentNot in attendance
- abandonedLeft behind completely
- orphanChild whose parents died
- estrangedSeparated by emotional distance
- long lostMissing for ages
abandoned child · loss · grief · longing · custody · divorce · closed adoption · searching · DNA test · birth certificate · reunion · adoption · fatherless · motherless · father figure · gone · void · empty chair
missing parentcustodial parent
Parent children reside with
helicopter parent · stay-at-home parent · primary caregiver · co-parent
miss, missed, misses, parent, parents, parental, parenting, parented, parentage