dis·ap·pear
ˌdis-ə-ˈpir
disappeared; disappearing; disappears
1
: to pass from view
The moon disappeared behind a cloud.
2
: to cease to be : pass out of existence or notice
dinosaurs disappeared from the earth
My keys seem to have disappeared again.
: to cause (someone or something) to disappear:
a
: to abduct and kill or imprison (someone, such as a political dissident) while withholding information about the person's fate
Her son was disappeared during Argentina's so-called 'Dirty War.'—Associated Press
Under his repressive regime, tens of thousands of Chileans were "disappeared," tortured and killed; hundreds of thousands were forced into exile.—Mandalit del Barco
Fearing that he would be kidnapped or "disappeared" in Syria under some false pretext, Mr. Omar made a video, which he posted on YouTube, to establish that he had defected.—Dan Bilefsky
When early efforts of containment failed, journalists and doctors who spoke out against the threat were disappeared, these sources said.—Bret Baier and Nick Givas
Orwell's novel was published in 1949 in the wake of World War II, when both fascism and socialism seemed to loom as threats to democracy, and it imagines a secretive regime that surveils its people and polices even their thoughts, disappearing anyone who rebels against the order.—Jeva Lange
b
: to cause (something) to pass out of existence, possession, or view
VICE has disappeared the post from its Web site.—Jenna Sauers
The … waitress disappears the debris from the floor …—Catherine Cleary
After class, while waiting for Halmoni to pick me up, I devoured as many of those rainbow morsels as I could, as if disappearing them might also disappear my shame.—Jennifer Hope Choi
He shares his opinion that based on his early findings, the bullets didn't come from Locke's gun, which is important because, as Lucca Quinn points out, Peter would have no reason to disappear the evidence if it exonerated Locke.—Alexis Rhiannon
dis·ap·pear·ance
1
: the act or an instance of disappearing : removal from sight : vanishing
the disappearance of his name from the list of players
the disappearance of stately old mansions
made a sudden disappearance from the party
2
: the depletion or diminution of world or national stocks or supplies (as of cotton, wheat)
with the present rate of disappearance the national marketing quota for the new crop of cotton would be 10 million bales
also
: the amount of such depletion
the total annual disappearance of wheat averaged 721 million bushels
Cite this Entry
“Disappear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disappear. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.
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