diff --git a/lib/metasync b/lib/metasync
index 2d6fbec..22bcabc 100755
--- a/lib/metasync
+++ b/lib/metasync
@@ -308,6 +308,9 @@ for results in batch_generator(rconn.paged_search_ext_s(
                 actions.append((RENAME, found_dns[k], target_dn))
                 renames += 1
             if to_dict_of_set(existing_entry) != to_dict_of_set(entry):
+                for key in existing_entry:
+                    if key not in entry:
+                        entry[key] = []  # remove deleted attributes
                 actions.append((UPDATE, target_dn, entry))
             updates += 1
         else: