vanish

[van-ish]

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.

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

/ ˈvænɪʃ /

verb

1. to disappear, esp suddenly or mysteriously

2. to cease to exist; fade away

3. maths to become zero

noun

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of vanish¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of vanish¹

C14: vanissen, from Old French esvanir, from Latin ēvānēscere to evaporate, from ē- _ex- ¹ + vānēscere to pass away, from vānus empty

Idioms and Phrases

see under into thin air.

Synonym Study

See disappear.

Example Sentences

According to organisations who specialise in missing persons, men are at the highest risk of serious harm in the hours and days after they vanish.

Read more on BBC

He and his team had all seen friends, relatives and co-workers vanish in immigration raids.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In the Moskitia alone, almost one-third of the forest has vanished in only 20 years.

Read more on Science Daily

Working entirely online, he contributed to the cryptocurrency’s development for the next two years and then, after a brief note to one of his collaborators, vanished from the internet.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Buchan realized that “an old regime was passing away,” and that the “vanishing” of one world and the arrival of another was “apt to crush those who had to meet it.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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