disappear

[dis-uh-peer]

verb (used without object)

1. to cease to be seen; vanish from sight.

2. to cease to exist or be known; pass away; end gradually.

   One by one the symptoms disappeared.

3. (of a person) to vanish under suspicious circumstances.

   The dictator's outspoken opponent disappeared that evening, shortly after midnight.

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to disappear.

   The magician then disappeared the card.

2. to kidnap or arrest and then imprison or kill (a political opponent) without due process of law.

disappear

/ ˌdɪsəˈpɪə /

verb

1. (intr) to cease to be visible; vanish

2. (intr) to go away or become lost, esp secretly or without explanation

3. (intr) to cease to exist, have effect, or be known; become extinct or lost

   the pain has disappeared

4. (tr) (esp in South and Central America) to arrest secretly and presumably imprison or kill (a member of an opposing political group)

Other Word Forms

• disappearance noun
• nondisappearing adjective
• undisappearing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of disappear¹

First recorded in 1520–30; dis- ¹ + appear

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Teddy, a hobbyist beekeeper, opens the film alarmed that now the bees have disappeared, too.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The testimonials disappeared from the website on Monday, after The Times began contacting representatives for those quoted.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

We send Snapchat photos that disappear in seconds and curate our life’s highlights on Instagram.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Anti-Jewish attitudes have morphed over the centuries but have never disappeared.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Entire categories of jobs may disappear far more quickly than in past cycles of creative destruction.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• abandon 
• depart 
• die 
• die out 
• dissipate 
• dissolve 
• escape 
• evaporate 
• expire 
• fade 
• flee 
• fly 
• go 
• leave 
• melt 
• perish 
• recede 
• retire 
• retreat 
• sink