vanish

verb

van·​ish ˈva-nish 

vanished; vanishing; vanishes

intransitive verb

1

a

: to pass quickly from sight : disappear

b

: to pass completely from existence

2

: to assume the value zero

transitive verb

: to cause to disappear

vanisher noun

Synonyms

• dematerialize
• disappear
• dissolve
• evanesce
• evaporate
• fade
• flee
• fly
• melt
• sink

Examples of vanish in a Sentence

The missing girl vanished without a trace a year ago.

The papers seem to have vanished into thin air.

Dinosaurs vanished from the face of the earth millions of years ago.

Recent Examples on the Web

Allen vanished in November 2022, the outlets reported, and Scott was initially charged with kidnapping. —Liam Quinn, Peoplemag, 31 May 2024

California Scott Peterson in court as LA Innocence Project pushes for DNA testing and missing reports March 12, 2024 Laci Peterson vanished on Christmas Eve 2002 from their Modesto home. —Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2024

Macy Richard, 27, and Jerilyn Hebert, 57, vanished Tuesday, May 28, in the Pirate’s Cove area of Toledo Bend Lake. —Mark Price, Miami Herald, 30 May 2024

Pessimists argue that the Kremlin is building a permanent war economy, much like the one that strangled the Soviet Union, and that hopes of building a prosperous consumer economy are fast vanishing. —Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English vanisshen, borrowed from Anglo-French vaniss- stem of vanir, envanir, esvanir, going back to Vulgar Latin *exvānīre, restructuring of Latin ēvānēscere "to fade away, disappear," from ē- e- entry 1 + vānēscere "to pass from existence," inchoative verb derivative of vānus "empty, lacking content" — more at wane entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing vanish

• disappear/vanish into thin air

Kids Definition

vanish

verb

van·​ish ˈvan-ish 

: to pass from sight or existence

vanisher noun