disappear

[dis-uh-peer]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR disappear ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to cease to be seen; vanish from sight.

to cease to exist or be known; pass away; end gradually: One by one the symptoms disappeared.

(of a person) to vanish under suspicious circumstances: The dictator's outspoken opponent disappeared that evening, shortly after midnight.

verb (used with object)

to cause to disappear: The magician then disappeared the card.

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

noun (used with a plural verb)

the disappeared, political opponents who are caused to disappear, as by kidnapping: the disappeared of Argentina.

Origin of disappear

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

Related formsnon·dis·ap·pear·ing, adjectiveun·dis·ap·pear·ing, adjective

Synonym study

1. 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for disappeared

depart, wane, retire, escape, go, melt, dissipate, fade, perish, evaporate, expire, sink, flee, retreat, fly, die, recede, leave, withdraw, abandon

Examples from the Web for disappeared

Contemporary Examples of disappeared

But even though he has been disappeared, Castro is not forgotten.
An Informant, a Missing American, and Juarez’s House of Death: Inside the 12-Year Cold Case of David Castro
Bill Conroy
January 6, 2015
There should be a retrievable record of exactly when the Airbus disappeared from radar.
Did Bad Weather Bring Down AirAsia 8501?
Clive Irving
December 29, 2014
Today, there are only about 30,000 remaining, as they have disappeared from twenty-six countries.
Heed the Warnings: Why We’re on the Brink of Mass Extinction
Sean B. Carroll
November 30, 2014
Only two months later, her youngest brother, Mohammed Muktar, disappeared.
Drawing on the Memories of Syrian Women
Masha Hamilton
November 26, 2014
The giant bear flicked his ears and, with unmistakable restraint, swung away and disappeared into the trees.
What It Takes to Kill a Grizzly Bear
Doug Peacock
November 23, 2014

Historical Examples of disappeared

One of the stars in the constellation of the Pleiades is said to have disappeared.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
Finally he disappeared, and, as it seems, embraced the profession of a sailor.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
The old cities of Egypt have disappeared from the face of the earth.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
Thrones have toppled and their vast empires have disappeared.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
Like the tomb of William the Conqueror at Caen, it disappeared long ago.
Yorkshire Painted And Described
Gordon Home

British Dictionary definitions for disappeared

disappear

verb

(intr) to cease to be visible; vanish

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

(intr) to cease to exist, have effect, or be known; become extinct or lostthe pain has disappeared

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

Derived Formsdisappearance, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for disappeared

disappear

early 15c., disaperen, from dis- "do the opposite of" + appear. Earlier was disparish (early 15c.), from French disparaiss-, stem of disparaître. Related: Disappeared; disappearing; disappears. Slang disappearing act is originally of magic shows; in figurative sense of "getting away" first attested 1913.