vanish

American  

[van-ish] / ˈvæn ɪʃ /

verb (used without object)

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)

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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Related Words

See disappear.

Other Word Forms

• nonvanishing adjective
• outvanish verb (used with object)
• unvanishing adjective
• vanisher noun
• vanishingly adverb
• vanishment noun

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

Example Sentences

But if her firing says anything, it may be less about why she lost the job — and more about how quickly the trappings of power can vanish once she did.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026

All of L.A. believed, and official L.A. passionately hoped, that once the war was over and all those smokestacks shut down, the smog would vanish too.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

In these cases, the well known magic numbers vanish, round nuclear shapes break down, and the nucleus can shift into a highly distorted form.

From Science Daily • Mar. 8, 2026

The market is pricing outcomes that would require these companies to simply vanish, debts unpaid, into the AI-disrupted void.

From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026

Blending inheritance would function as his natural genetic prison: even if he mated—precisely when he mated—his hereditary features would instantly vanish into a sea of normalcy.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

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