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 of vanish

• 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

Then one day, a few months ago, Francine vanished. —Steve Hartman, CBS News, 6 Dec. 2025

His narrow lead had vanished, leaving him slightly behind. —Reuters 7 Hr Ago, CNN Money, 5 Dec. 2025

Two sea planes took off that night in search of Flight 19, though one of those flying boats also vanished from radar, and its 13-member crew went missing. —Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 5 Dec. 2025

When time stops one hot summer day and the road out vanishes, not everyone is displeased with the changes, even when the sparse little woods turn into an impassable forest and the river brims with strange, seductive voices. —Literary Hub, 5 Dec. 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