vanish

verb

van·​ish ˈva-nish 

vanished; vanishing; vanishes

intransitive verb

1

a

: to pass quickly from sight : disappear

b

: to pass completely from existence

2

: to assume the value zero

transitive verb

: to cause to disappear

vanisher noun

Synonyms

• dematerialize
• disappear
• dissolve
• evanesce
• evaporate
• fade
• flee
• fly
• melt
• sink

Examples of vanish in a Sentence

The missing girl vanished without a trace a year ago.

The papers seem to have vanished into thin air.

Dinosaurs vanished from the face of the earth millions of years ago.

Recent Examples on the Web

Some messages have been vanishing when sent to anyone who uses Gmail as their email platform. —Davey Winder, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024

In an election that both sides see as existential, the moral guardrails for political spending are vanishing. —Zachary Basu, Axios, 31 Oct. 2024

Billy, too, then vanishes from the Road, having his desire fulfilled. —Nick Romano, EW.com, 31 Oct. 2024

In the eponymous Labyrinth in the 1980 movie—starring David Bowie as The Goblin King in his most bemusing turn—the paths shift around, statues appear and vanish, and there’s a swirling M.C. Escher staircase. —Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English vanisshen, borrowed from Anglo-French vaniss- stem of vanir, envanir, esvanir, going back to Vulgar Latin *exvānīre, restructuring of Latin ēvānēscere "to fade away, disappear," from ē- e- entry 1 + vānēscere "to pass from existence," inchoative verb derivative of vānus "empty, lacking content" — more at wane entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing vanish

• disappear/vanish into thin air

Kids Definition

vanish

verb

van·​ish ˈvan-ish 

: to pass from sight or existence

vanisher noun