disappear

verb

dis·​ap·​pear ˌdis-ə-ˈpir 

disappeared; disappearing; disappears

intransitive verb

1

: to pass from view

The moon disappeared behind a cloud.

2

: to cease to be : pass out of existence or notice

dinosaurs disappeared from the earth

My keys seem to have disappeared again.

transitive verb

: to cause (someone or something) to disappear:

a

: to abduct and kill or imprison (someone, such as a political dissident) while withholding information about the person's fate

Her son was disappeared during Argentina's so-called 'Dirty War.'

—Associated Press

Under his repressive regime, tens of thousands of Chileans were "disappeared," tortured and killed; hundreds of thousands were forced into exile.

—Mandalit del Barco

Fearing that he would be kidnapped or "disappeared" in Syria under some false pretext, Mr. Omar made a video, which he posted on YouTube, to establish that he had defected.

—Dan Bilefsky

When early efforts of containment failed, journalists and doctors who spoke out against the threat were disappeared, these sources said.

—Bret Baier and Nick Givas

Orwell's novel was published in 1949 in the wake of World War II, when both fascism and socialism seemed to loom as threats to democracy, and it imagines a secretive regime that surveils its people and polices even their thoughts, disappearing anyone who rebels against the order.

—Jeva Lange

b

: to cause (something) to pass out of existence, possession, or view

VICE has disappeared the post from its Web site.

—Jenna Sauers

The … waitress disappears the debris from the floor …

—Catherine Cleary

After class, while waiting for Halmoni to pick me up, I devoured as many of those rainbow morsels as I could, as if disappearing them might also disappear my shame.

—Jennifer Hope Choi

He shares his opinion that based on his early findings, the bullets didn't come from Locke's gun, which is important because, as Lucca Quinn points out, Peter would have no reason to disappear the evidence if it exonerated Locke.

—Alexis Rhiannon

disappearance

ˌdis-ə-ˈpir-ən(t)s 

noun

Synonyms

• dematerialize
• dissolve
• evanesce
• evaporate
• fade
• flee
• fly
• melt
• sink
• vanish

Examples of disappear in a Sentence

The two men disappeared around the corner.

The dinosaurs disappeared millions of years ago.

These problems won't just disappear by themselves.

He disappeared without a trace two years ago.

The speaker suddenly disappeared just before the beginning of the ceremony.

Recent Examples on the Web

Since glaciers disappeared from North America, the loss of ice on top of the continent has been slowly causing the East Coast to sink. —Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024

Sugar’s latest client is veteran film producer Jonathan Siegel (James Cromwell), whose granddaughter Olivia (Sydney Chandler) has disappeared without a trace. —Alison Herman, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024

While only a sliver of Michigan will be in the path of totality during Monday's solar eclipse, there is still plenty to see and experience outside those boundaries: The eerie light as the sun disappears behind the moon, a dip in temperature, changes in the wind, maybe even strange animal behaviors. —Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2024

When Qaddafi’s revolutionary committees come calling, the fathers disappear. —Hazlitt, 3 Apr. 2024

As if the sun disappearing midday wasn’t spooky enough, NASA intends to add multiple streaks of fire to parts of the East Coast sky during the April 8 solar eclipse. —Mark Price, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024

The attorney also sought to explain away the new carpeting and bank account activity after Buckner disappeared, saying the couple shared their financial accounts. —Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 3 Apr. 2024

An Andy Warhol screenprint of the Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong has mysteriously disappeared from a community college in California. —Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Apr. 2024

Bounding out from their cages after long plane flights, the first five disappeared into the forest as Gov. Jared Polis, wildlife officials, biologists and journalists looked on. —Jesse Bedayn, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Phrases Containing disappear

• disappear/vanish into thin air

Kids Definition

disappear

verb

dis·​ap·​pear ˌdis-ə-ˈpi(ə)r 

1

: to cease to be visible : pass out of sight : vanish

the moon disappeared behind a cloud

2

: to cease to be

the dinosaur disappeared ages ago

disappearance

-ˈpir-ən(t)s 

noun