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

Gein was found guilty of murdering Worden as well as another woman, Mary Hogan, who had mysteriously vanished a few years beforehand. —Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025

Then a touching reunion in NC Francine, a beloved cat who spent eight years living at a Lowe’s store in Richmond, Virginia, vanished after getting onto a truck and ended up at a distribution center in Garysburg, North Carolina. —Real-Time News Team, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2025

Rural hospitals are vanishing, and Medicaid cuts could accelerate the collapse. —Selina Wang, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2025

Nearly nine decades after Amelia Earhart vanished over the Pacific Ocean, a new expedition may finally offer an answer to one of aviation’s most enduring mysteries. —Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 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