disappearance
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of disappearance
Explanation
A disappearance occurs when something vanishes from sight. The disappearance of the stars behind the clouds makes it a bad night for watching a meteor shower. While this word is often used when something's not visible, you can also use it for something that dies out or ceases to exist, like the disappearance of a particular animal species that's gone extinct or even disappearance of cursive writing in schools. In news stories, the word frequently refers to a crime involving a missing person: "The disappearance of his neighbor was very mysterious."
Vocabulary lists containing disappearance
Buzzwords for National Honey Bee Day
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Week 3: Investigations
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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.
Middlebrow culture slowly died along with the highbrows’ disappearance from public life.
From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026
That drop would equate to the disappearance of the entire Moreno Valley Unified School District, which is one of the 25 largest school systems in the state.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
A new study from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is reshaping a decades-old belief about the disappearance of Hawaiʻi's native waterbirds.
From Science Daily • Apr. 14, 2026
She also raised the possibility that her own fame may have been behind her mother's disappearance, saying that thought was too much to bear.
From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026
“I want to talk to you about the disappearance of one Julietta West Williams,” Noa said.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
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.
