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

Customers of the now-defunct budget carrier are mourning the sub-$100 plane ticket that has now virtually disappeared.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

Now, customers of the defunct budget carrier are mourning the sub-$100 plane ticket that has virtually disappeared.

From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026

In a twinkling, the report gets disappeared from public view and public comment as completely as if it had been dropped off the end of the Santa Monica Pier.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

This includes both patients whose tumors completely disappeared and those who still had small traces of cancer after treatment.

From Science Daily • May 6, 2026

The rat disappeared behind the bush, and Clare followed him.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Related Words

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