disappear
Americanverb (used without object)
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to cease to be seen; vanish from sight.
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to cease to exist or be known; pass away; end gradually.
One by one the symptoms disappeared.
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(of a person) to vanish under suspicious circumstances.
The dictator's outspoken opponent disappeared that evening, shortly after midnight.
verb (used with object)
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to cause to disappear.
The magician then disappeared the card.
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to kidnap or arrest and then imprison or kill (a political opponent) without due process of law.
verb
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(intr) to cease to be visible; vanish
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(intr) to go away or become lost, esp secretly or without explanation
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(intr) to cease to exist, have effect, or be known; become extinct or lost
the pain has disappeared
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(tr) (esp in South and Central America) to arrest secretly and presumably imprison or kill (a member of an opposing political group)
Synonym Usage
Disappear, fade, vanish suggest that something passes from sight. Disappear is used of whatever suddenly or gradually goes out of sight: We watched him turn down a side street and then disappear. Fade suggests a (complete or partial) disappearance that proceeds gradually and often by means of a blending into something else: Colors in the sky at sunrise quickly fade. Vanish suggests complete, generally rapid, and often mysterious disappearance: A mirage can vanish as suddenly as it appears.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disappear
Explanation
When something disappears, it's gone. To disappear is to vanish, evaporate, or just fade away. The word disappear is made up of dis, meaning "do the opposite of" and appear. So to disappear is to do the opposite of appear. Magicians are experts at making things disappear: one minute the rabbit is here, and the next, it's gone! When you lose something, like one of a pair of socks, you could say it disappeared. Snow disappears as it melts; boiling water disappears as it evaporates. Anything that goes away without leaving a trace has disappeared.
Vocabulary lists containing disappear
"Hitching a Ride"
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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 3
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Let It Be
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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.
When you have built a large portfolio and watch half of it disappear, a 50% drawdown stops being a number on a page.
From MarketWatch • May 26, 2026
Your sidewalks disappear and your chances of getting hit by a car go way up.
From Los Angeles Times • May 25, 2026
In physics, quantities such as energy, momentum, and angular momentum are conserved, meaning they cannot disappear or be created from nothing.
From Science Daily • May 24, 2026
Over the course of a month, notice which ingredients disappear almost embarrassingly fast and which ones slowly expire in the back of your crisper drawer while radiating guilt.
From Salon • May 22, 2026
After that, the symptoms disappear for a time.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
