disappeared

American  

[dis-uh-peerd] / ˌdɪs əˈpɪərd /

adjective

1. having vanished from sight or existence.

   Right this minute, the only thing I want to do is to find a way to recover my disappeared phone photos.

   The museum displays tools and artifacts from an almost disappeared culture, known only from one archaeological site.

2. (of a person) having vanished under suspicious or unknown circumstances.

   Family members of the disappeared persons were denied the right to any effective remedy, including the right to know the fate of their loved ones.

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noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. none the disappeared people, especially political opponents, who have vanished under suspicious or unknown circumstances, or without due process of law.

   The determination of the parents, grandparents, and—most recently—children of the disappeared is finally putting dictators, torturers, and their accomplices behind bars.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of disappear.

Etymology

Origin of disappeared

First recorded in 1400–50 as a verb: disappear ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ), and in 1640–50 as an adjective: disappear ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Their chemical signatures reveal when the surface was last exposed to sunlight, helping pinpoint past periods when the ice sheet disappeared.

From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2026

The apprehension that marked her 20s disappeared, replaced by a silent confidence molded from experience.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

MacRae, 36, and Andrew disappeared on 12 November 1976.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

Once the professional reason to gather disappeared, even genuine friendships couldn’t hold the group together.

From Slate • Apr. 12, 2026

There was no more argument, not about Marlene, who had disappeared into the night by now, and not about returning home to the shelter.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Related Words

• absent
• adrift
• disoriented
• hidden
• invisible
• misplaced
• vanished