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

Michael David Hicks, who studied comets and asteroids at JPL, was the first of the scientists who disappeared or died.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026

An American court can order their return, but as a practical matter, these human beings have essentially been disappeared.

From Salon • Apr. 21, 2026

"The substantial amount of time that passed between her death and the discovery meant that crucial evidence had degraded or disappeared."

From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026

The apprehension that marked her 20s disappeared, replaced by a silent confidence molded from experience.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

After a while he disappeared through a crack in the floor.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Related Words

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