evanesce

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

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

to disappear gradually; vanish; fade away.

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

Related Words for evanescence

disappearance, evaporation

Examples from the Web for evanescence

Contemporary Examples of 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

Historical Examples of evanescence

Meditate upon it, and on the insignificance and evanescence of human life.
The Book of Khalid
Ameen Rihani
The other figure of smoke is a stereotype in all tongues for evanescence.
The Expositor's Bible: The Psalms, Vol. 1
A. Maclaren
Evanescence tends also to undermine our personal affections.
The Joys of Being a Woman
Winifred Kirkland
Let us dream of evanescence, and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things.
The Book of Tea
Kakuzo Okakura
The ghost was gone again, and its evanescence was discussed with ready wonder.
Fennel and Rue
William Dean Howells

British Dictionary definitions for evanescence

evanesce

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

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).