disappeared

American  

[dis-uh-peerd] / ˌdɪs əˈpɪərd /

adjective

1. having vanished from sight or existence.

   Right this minute, the only thing I want to do is to find a way to recover my disappeared phone photos.

   The museum displays tools and artifacts from an almost disappeared culture, known only from one archaeological site.

2. (of a person) having vanished under suspicious or unknown circumstances.

   Family members of the disappeared persons were denied the right to any effective remedy, including the right to know the fate of their loved ones.

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noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. none the disappeared people, especially political opponents, who have vanished under suspicious or unknown circumstances, or without due process of law.

   The determination of the parents, grandparents, and—most recently—children of the disappeared is finally putting dictators, torturers, and their accomplices behind bars.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of disappear.

Etymology

Origin of disappeared

First recorded in 1400–50 as a verb: disappear ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ), and in 1640–50 as an adjective: disappear ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

"When those individuals are struggling because they're afraid of being detained or disappeared, it has an effect not only morally but economically on what's going on here, and also in the greater Midwest."

From BBC

Many simply disappeared, their fates swallowed by silence.

From Salon

Noah disappeared after cycling to the Shore Road in north Belfast from his home at Fitzroy Avenue in south Belfast in the afternoon of 21 June 2020.

From BBC

Sri Lanka were hardly complaining as the last over from Jamie Overton disappeared for 23 runs, Wellalage launching three fours and a six in a blistering cameo of 25 not out from 12 balls.

From Barron's

At the end of the walkway, concrete steps disappeared into the choppy gray storm surge, leading down to the second-and first-floor apartments.

From Literature

Related Words

• absent
• adrift
• disoriented
• hidden
• invisible
• misplaced
• vanished