vanish

American  

[van-ish] / ˈvæn ɪʃ /

verb (used without object)

vanishes, present (3rd person singular) vanished, past participle, past vanishing present participle

1. to disappear from sight, especially quickly; become invisible.

   The frost vanished when the sun came out.

   Synonyms:

   evanesce

   Antonyms:

   appear

2. to go away, especially furtively or mysteriously; disappear by quick departure.

   The thief vanished in the night.

3. to disappear by ceasing to exist; come to an end.

   The pain vanished after he took an aspirin.

4. Mathematics. (of a number, quantity, or function) to become zero.

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verb (used with object)

vanishes, present (3rd person singular) vanished, past participle, past vanishing present participle

1. to cause to disappear.

noun

1. Phonetics. the last part of a vowel sound when it differs noticeably in quality from the main sound, as the faint (ē) at the end of the (ā) in the pronunciation of pain.

vanish British  

/ ˈvænɪʃ /

verb

1. to disappear, esp suddenly or mysteriously

2. to cease to exist; fade away

3. maths to become zero

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noun

1. rare phonetics the second and weaker of the two vowels in a falling diphthong

vanish Idioms  

1. see under into thin air.

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Synonym Usage

See disappear.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• vanisher
  noun
• vanishment
  noun
• nonvanishing
  adjective
• unvanishing
  adjective
• vanishingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• vanishing
  present
• vanished
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• vanish
  simple
• vanishes
  simple
• have vanished
  perfect
• has vanished
  perfect
• am vanishing
  progressive
• are vanishing
  progressive
• is vanishing
  progressive
• have been vanishing
  perfect progressive
• has been vanishing
  perfect progressive

Past

• vanished
  simple
• had vanished
  perfect
• was vanishing
  progressive
• were vanishing
  progressive
• had been vanishing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will vanish
  simple
• will have vanished
  perfect
• will be vanishing
  progressive
• will have been vanishing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of vanish

1275–1325; Middle English vanisshen, vanissen < Middle French evaniss-, long stem of e ( s ) vanir ≪ Latin ex- ex- ¹ + vānēscere to pass away, equivalent to vān ( us ) vain + -ēscere inchoative suffix

Explanation

A car driving into the distance, a member of a near-extinct species, or that last piece of pecan pie in the refrigerator — any of these things is likely to vanish soon, meaning "to disappear." The word vanish entered English by way of French, but it can be traced back to the Latin word evanescere, meaning to “die away” or “to dissipate.” The word covers all kinds of disappearing acts, from the disappearance of an object or a person. You might, for example, vanish from school when the last bell rings on Friday. Things we can't see can also vanish, like the stress that vanishes when your big project is complete.

Example Sentences

If families don’t plan ahead, they can miss the tax breaks or watch money vanish from their flexible-spending accounts.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 6, 2026

Yet if a black hole evaporates completely, all information about the matter that fell into it appears to vanish as well.

From Science Daily • Jul. 5, 2026

They had co-ordinated an extensive trip with another father-son duo, only for the tickets to vanish on match day.

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026

But as younger Taiwanese largely opt for city life over the island's remote northeast, she fears this tradition could vanish when her generation of "hainu", or "sea women", are no longer able to carry on.

From Barron's • Jun. 30, 2026

Her weight gain over the past three and a half months had allowed for her monthly cycles to return after near-starvation in Endovier had made them vanish.

From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas

Related Words

• die
• die out
• dissolve
• evaporate
• fade
• melt