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

Michael would often vanish for a month or two, then suddenly materialize in Brazil or Sicily. — Grace Coddington, Vanity Fair, 25 Sep. 2026

If live sports are the only thing preventing the bundle from vanishing outright, a stable virtual MVPD market has gone a long way toward moderating the overall losses in the pay-TV space. — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 23 Sep. 2026

He was jailed for a time in Dubai, but managed to secure his release and vanish just as authorities resumed their manhunt for him. — Senior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026

Now, he’s accused of murdering a missing lawyer Shortly after Cozzi vanished, Kosowski fell onto police’s radar due to a suspicious person and car spotted at the law office. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 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