vanish

verb

van·​ish ˈva-nish How to pronounce vanish (audio)
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

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 Twenty years ago, Brianna Maitland vanished from her Vermont workplace. Cara Tabachnick, CBS News, 19 Mar. 2024 But others vanish into the realm of private collectors whose identities often remain hidden. Dennis Harvey, Variety, 18 Mar. 2024 Flash robbers usually vanish before the police have time to arrive. Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024 Jessica Cain vanishes after dinner with friends A month later in South Texas, another young woman's disappearance would shatter the lives of Suzy and C.H. Cain. Claire Lempert, ABC News, 15 Mar. 2024 For every snake that can be peaceably placed in a bag and taken far away, there are many more that vanish before a snake catcher can even arrive. Natasha Frost David Maurice Smith, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024 After Joy vanishes, suspicion focuses on the interloper and the dad. Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 13 Mar. 2024 Laci Peterson, 27 vanished Christmas Eve from their Modesto home. Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024 The Swiss Valais canton police said the bodies of the five members of a group that vanished Saturday near the Tête Blanche mountain were found Sunday around 9:20 p.m. local time. Sarah Al-Arshani, USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vanish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of vanish was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near vanish

Cite this Entry

“Vanish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vanish. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

vanish

verb
van·​ish ˈvan-ish How to pronounce vanish (audio)
: to pass from sight or existence
vanisher noun

More from Merriam-Webster on vanish

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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