A tenor absent without leave (6)

I believe the answer is:

adrift

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'a tenor absent without leave' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'a tenor' is the wordplay.
'tenor' becomes 'drift' (drift is a kind of tenor).
'a'+'drift'='ADRIFT'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for adrift that I've seen before include "Undirected" , "Floating uncontrolled" , "Going out of control" , "(Of boat) moving out of control" , "without guidance?" .)

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