Showing results for "disappeared"

• past tense form of disappear.
• past participle of disappear.

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.

---

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

The date he disappeared is now National Missing Children’s day.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026

Once the cells emerged from the other side, the damage gradually disappeared.

From Science Daily • Jun. 21, 2026

In Havana, too, municipal buses have virtually disappeared, leaving most people with no option but to walk to work or school in near 40C heat.

From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026

She said she was only 7 when her mother disappeared.

From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026

Hugo disappeared without trace within days of the conversation I’d overheard.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

Related Words

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