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

Nearly three decades after Kristin Smart vanished, investigators in California conducted a new search warrant at a home in hopes of recovering the woman's body. —Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 7 May 2026

In fact, the moment the torch was clicked off, the flames simply vanished. —Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 7 May 2026

McIlroy did see his weekend lead of six shots vanish, but managed to be the best player on the property during the final round and secure a one-shot victory with a bogey on the final hole. —Mark Harris Outkick, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026

While on holiday at a Chilean seaside resort with his girlfriend Ingrid (Pascal), a fellow tourist vanishes mysteriously. —Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 4 May 2026

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