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
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have disappearedperfect
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has disappearedperfect 3rd person singular
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has been disappearingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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have been disappearingperfect progressive
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disappearingparticiple
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am disappearingprogressive 1st person singular
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are disappearingprogressive
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is disappearingprogressive 3rd person singular
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disappearssingular 3rd person
Past
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had disappearedperfect
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were disappearingprogressive plural
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disappearedsimple
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had been disappearingperfect progressive
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was disappearingprogressive singular
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disappearedparticiple
Future
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.
With a goal by Haitian-born Joe Gaetjens—who would later disappear in Port-au-Prince under the regime of François Duvalier—the U.S. secured one of the most significant victories in its soccer history.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
As these proteins disappear, homologous recombination is effectively shut down.
From Science Daily • Jun. 10, 2026
Stephen suggested Kie-Gol-Lanee, our neighborhood Oaxacan restaurant, where the mole is rich, the tamarind margaritas are dangerous and the frijoles arrive with a bowl of chips that seem to disappear on their own.
From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026
Unlike most disaster sites, where the scars eventually disappear, at BJ Medical College grief has become a permanent resident.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026
The man clearly wasn’t going to be able to eat the shawarma, and Boaz promising it to him wasn’t going to get him to disappear.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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.
