evanesce

[ ev-uh-nes, ev-uh-nes ]

/ ˌɛv əˈnɛs, ˈɛv əˌnɛs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR evanesce ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), ev·a·nesced, ev·a·nesc·ing.

to disappear gradually; vanish; fade away.

RELATED WORDS

disappearance, evaporation

Nearby words

Origin of evanesce

1815–25; < Latin ēvānēscere to vanish

Related formsev·a·nes·cence, nounev·a·nes·ci·ble, adjective

Can be confusedevanesce evaporate liquefy melt thaw transpire vaporizeevanescence evaporation liquefaction melting thawing transpiration vaporization

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

Examples from the Web for evanescence

Our motto was “Evanescence has two hit songs, and we do both of them.”
Randi Zuckerberg: How I Learned to Balance Business and Creativity|Randi Zuckerberg|November 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I wail to a familiar tune, of course, in this lament for the evanescence of human grandeur and the perishable renown of kings.
Modern Essays|John Macy
There is the charm of Evanescence, that which lends to supreme beauty and grace an aureole of Pathos.
The Raven|Edgar Allan Poe
The very beauty of such appearances is in part their evanescence.
The Posthumous Works of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. 1 (2 vols)|Thomas De Quincey

A fervid perception of the evanescence and sorrows of life is the root of Carlyle's pathos, which is unsurpassed in literature.
Thomas Carlyle|Hector Carsewell Macpherson
What an object lesson is here presented, attesting the evanescence of all mundane power and glory.
The Pearl of India|Maturin M. Ballou

British Dictionary definitions for evanescence

evanesce

/ (ˌɛvəˈnɛs) /

verb

(intr) (of smoke, mist, etc) to fade gradually from sight; vanish

Word Origin for evanesce

C19: from Latin ēvānēscere to disappear; see vanish

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 evanescence

evanescence

1751; see evanescent + -ence. Evanescency is attested from 1660s.

evanesce

1822, a back-formation from evanescence, or else from Latin evanescere "to pass away, vanish" (see evanescent).