Showing results for "disappeared"

• past participle of disappear.
• past tense form 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.

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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

The relentless positivity might serve as a corrective for a country where, for some, anger and disenchantment has come to overshadow everything, including an everyday decency that never actually disappeared.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026

She said she was only 7 when her mother disappeared.

From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026

Erbach went on a date with Phelps to the Hard Rock Hotel in Guadalajara in December 2021 and then disappeared.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2026

Gideon didn’t respond to inquiries for this article and, since the release of her prerecorded concession speech, has all but disappeared from political life.

From Slate • Jun. 16, 2026

The spirit form sped toward the ceiling, then disappeared.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Related Words

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