What’s the word for missing in action?
Favorite Answer
Incognito means not being identified because your identity is disguised or hidden, as in, “The movie star’s new beard and hair color allowed him to get some peace and visit public places incognito.”
Similarly (in the real world), Nazi war criminals were able to evade capture because they traveled to other countries incognito.
Missing in action is usually a military term for men who remain unidentified and/or unaccounted for after battle, and the term is simply the acronym MIA.
When someone goes away on purpose (another military term) without permission, they are AWOL–Absent WithOut Leave.
**EDIT**
Since I touched on acronyms which came to us from the military, but which have entered common usage, here are a few more:
POW–Prisoner Of War
KIA-Killed In Action
FUBAR–Fu**** Up Beyond All Recognition
SNAFU–Situation Normal, All Fu**** Up
WIA–Wounded In Action
MIA–Missing in Action
POW–Prisoner of War
FUBAR–Effed Up Beyond All Recognition
For example: if you are MIA, you probably ditched your friends to hang out with your girlfriend. If you are a POW, you probably just got married. If you are AWOL, you probably ditched your wife to hang out with your friends in some bar somewhere. If you are FUBAR, your wife probably found out and you won’t be making the same mistake twice–least, any time soon.
-Wolfy
