vanish
Americanverb (used without object)
-
vanishes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
vanished,
past participle, past
-
vanishing
present participle
-
to disappear from sight, especially quickly; become invisible.
The frost vanished when the sun came out.
- Synonyms:
- evanesce
- Antonyms:
- appear
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to go away, especially furtively or mysteriously; disappear by quick departure.
The thief vanished in the night.
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to disappear by ceasing to exist; come to an end.
The pain vanished after he took an aspirin.
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Mathematics. (of a number, quantity, or function) to become zero.
verb (used with object)
-
vanishes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
vanished,
past participle, past
-
vanishing
present participle
noun
verb
-
to disappear, esp suddenly or mysteriously
-
to cease to exist; fade away
-
maths to become zero
noun
Synonym Usage
See disappear.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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vanishernoun
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vanishmentnoun
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outvanishverb (used with object)
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nonvanishingadjective
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unvanishingadjective
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vanishinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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vanishsimple
-
vanishessimple
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have vanishedperfect
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has vanishedperfect
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am vanishingprogressive
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are vanishingprogressive
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is vanishingprogressive
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have been vanishingperfect progressive
-
has been vanishingperfect progressive
Past
-
vanishedsimple
-
had vanishedperfect
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was vanishingprogressive
-
were vanishingprogressive
-
had been vanishingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing vanish
"The Ravine," Vocabulary from the short story
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"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
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Nobody's Home: Synonyms For "Absent"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He takes time to let us hear what a glacier sounds like while showing the swirls of blue ice, but also what it looks like when glaciers collapse and vanish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Something as embedded and sentimental as street food doesn’t just vanish.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
But even maps couldn’t solve a perennial annoyance: The oyster beds would vanish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Now I live in Gurugram, where footpaths vanish into rubble and garbage, are abruptly blocked by parked vehicles or construction, or sit uncomfortably high above the road.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
“So this is where you vanish to,” he said.
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
That doubt usually vanishes once it becomes a “he said, they said” case.
From Slate ● Apr. 22, 2026
In "Weapons," an original story that grossed $270 million worldwide, Madigan plays Gladys, the mysterious aunt of a young boy whose entire elementary school class vanishes one night -- at the same precise time.
From Barron's ● Mar. 15, 2026
As the price difference between low-end and midtier establishments vanishes, I’ve decided it’s time to change my dining habits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026
Methane has been detected repeatedly, but it vanishes faster than existing models can explain.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 29, 2025
He releases me and vanishes down the hallway with his shoebox filled with valentines.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
The tourists left an indelible mark on the city, but now they have vanished.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
It also opens new possibilities for studying extinct animals at the molecular level, potentially giving scientists access to biological information that was once assumed to have vanished during fossilization.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
Linda had been in the midst of divorce proceedings and had visited a bank with a court order to freeze her husband's bank accounts the week before she vanished.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Rental cars and hotel rooms vanished across the path of totality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
He popped it into his own mouth and vanished under the covers again.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
The Prespa lakes region is home to herding peoples, the Vlachs and Sarakatsani, who seem to be vanishing, taking their dialects with them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has captured a remarkable celestial sight: Earth briefly vanishing behind Phobos in the evening sky of Mars.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026
“Glaciers are leaving geologic time and are vanishing in the span of a human lifetime, which is unprecedented,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The 57-year-old New Jersey Republican last cast a vote in the House on March 5 before vanishing from Washington, D.C., and his home district for over 100 days.
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026
The horse galloped down the alley, vanishing from sight.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
