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

• disappear
• fade

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

Seventeen children vanish at exactly 2:17 a.m., leaving behind only one boy — Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher). —Samantha Stutsman, People.com, 8 Aug. 2025

That funding — which totaled more than $250 million for the state, including about $192 million from Baldwin — vanished earlier this year after Congress passed a continuing resolution that did not include the earmarks. —Lawrence Andrea, jsonline.com, 7 Aug. 2025

After making it through years of relentless tabloid scrutiny, Lohan effectively vanished. —Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 6 Aug. 2025

In the markets, staples such as eggs, milk, beef, and chicken have all but vanished. —Ghada Abdulfattah, The Atlantic, 5 Aug. 2025

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

Rhymes for vanish

• banish
• clannish
• mannish
• spanish

Kids Definition

vanish

verb

van·​ish ˈvan-ish 

: to pass from sight or existence

vanisher noun