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

Thereupon nuclear bluster permanently vanished from the U.S. presidential vocabulary, experts in diplomacy tell us, for reasons that boil down to a loss of credibility once Moscow could match the U.S. in nuclear firepower.

From The Wall Street Journal

To lose it would mean to vanish a snapshot of what makes this city glorious.

From Los Angeles Times

But the underlying issues—bullying classmates, changing bodies, vanishing innocence—remain the same.

From The Wall Street Journal

Despite their aura of permanence, Oscar statuettes have occasionally vanished over the years.

From Los Angeles Times

Stocks briefly rose in the late morning on the IEA announcement, but those gains vanished by lunchtime.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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