vanish
Americanverb (used without object)
-
vanishes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
vanished,
past participle, past
-
vanishing
present participle
-
to disappear from sight, especially quickly; become invisible.
The frost vanished when the sun came out.
- Synonyms:
- evanesce
- Antonyms:
- appear
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to go away, especially furtively or mysteriously; disappear by quick departure.
The thief vanished in the night.
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to disappear by ceasing to exist; come to an end.
The pain vanished after he took an aspirin.
-
Mathematics. (of a number, quantity, or function) to become zero.
verb (used with object)
-
vanishes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
vanished,
past participle, past
-
vanishing
present participle
noun
verb
-
to disappear, esp suddenly or mysteriously
-
to cease to exist; fade away
-
maths to become zero
noun
Synonym Usage
See disappear.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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vanishernoun
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vanishmentnoun
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outvanishverb (used with object)
-
nonvanishingadjective
-
unvanishingadjective
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vanishinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
vanishsimple
-
vanishessimple
-
have vanishedperfect
-
has vanishedperfect
-
am vanishingprogressive
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are vanishingprogressive
-
is vanishingprogressive
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have been vanishingperfect progressive
-
has been vanishingperfect progressive
Past
-
vanishedsimple
-
had vanishedperfect
-
was vanishingprogressive
-
were vanishingprogressive
-
had been vanishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of vanish
1275–1325; Middle English vanisshen, vanissen < Middle French evaniss-, long stem of e ( s ) vanir ≪ Latin ex- ex- 1 + vānēscere to pass away, equivalent to vān ( us ) vain + -ēscere inchoative suffix
Explanation
A car driving into the distance, a member of a near-extinct species, or that last piece of pecan pie in the refrigerator — any of these things is likely to vanish soon, meaning "to disappear." The word vanish entered English by way of French, but it can be traced back to the Latin word evanescere, meaning to “die away” or “to dissipate.” The word covers all kinds of disappearing acts, from the disappearance of an object or a person. You might, for example, vanish from school when the last bell rings on Friday. Things we can't see can also vanish, like the stress that vanishes when your big project is complete.
Vocabulary lists containing vanish
"The Ravine," Vocabulary from the short story
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"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
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Nobody's Home: Synonyms For "Absent"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In time, the married man, the younger man and the detective all vanish or recede, leaving Ms. Hepola alone but presumably wiser and more settled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
The bill’s backers insist that AM radio cannot vanish from the dashboard because it’s critical during emergencies.
From Slate ● Oct. 20, 2026
This is a major departure from the historic standard of net realized gains — thus, permitting managers to pocket performance fees on temporary highs that may vanish the next year.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
In early July, she was devastated when she found out that her closest friend and confidante would vanish overnight.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
I looked at Ultima and saw her smile vanish.
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
"In a flash, the money vanishes, often overseas in places like Kenya," McDonald said.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Roll the account into an IRA and the exception vanishes permanently.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
Companies need to ask themselves what happens if their AI supplier vanishes or is ordered to cut off service.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Once these materials drop below a critical temperature, their electrical resistance suddenly vanishes.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 27, 2026
Their breath, expelled in small clouds, vanishes like smoke from a chimney.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
As so often happens in Scotland, the alleged trail immediately vanished into a vast stretch of bog with no obvious way forward.
From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2026
Clea vanished seven years ago, and Michael’s dad suggests that the homunculi — which he learned about from an Italian alchemist in Egypt — might be able to tell him what happened to her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Among them were Bella Tola in the canton of Valais and Griessfirn in the canton of Glarus, both of which have now vanished permanently.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
Last week, as the AI concerns grew louder, the discount vanished.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
Every drop of fear vanished, for one astonishing moment, from his body.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Many of the plans that are vanishing or shrinking are PPOs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
The demolition has begun at Bengaluru's Urvashi Cinema, once a 1,200-seat movie palace where generations of filmgoers cheered and whistled, another casualty of India's vanishing single-screen era.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
In honor of Slate’s 30th anniversary, Luke waded into the comments section and discovered tales of love, loss, and a vanishing form of online community.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
Some of Wales' most endangered species are "at risk of vanishing" from an area of the country's largest national park, experts have warned.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
“Yeah, of course,” she murmured, the moment vanishing as quickly as it had come.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
