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

• vanishingly adverb
• vanisher noun
• 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

County prosecutor who has tried cases in the area for the last three decades, said it’s rare — but not unprecedented — for defendants to vanish on the eve of a verdict.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

News organizations, wary of losing access or facing litigation, are recalibrating in real time, even as the economics of the business collapse and newsroom jobs vanish.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Her hopes of expanding her family seemed to vanish with the money.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

This increases moral hazard, a concept Republicans once understood, and risk hasn’t vanished.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The revelations would lead him on a decade-long trail, revealing a family devastated by the Holocaust, a vanished fortune worth billions of pounds and a legacy of artwork and property stolen under Nazi rule.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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