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

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.

Example Sentences

Like so many other relics of the Soviet past in Central Asia, it is doomed to vanish amid a distancing from Russia and a top-down drive to boost national culture.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

Ghost preparers can take a fee or a cut of a refund and then vanish.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026

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

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 arrow did vanish earlier when Auntie North had entered the room.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Related Words

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