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

But the group that once asserted control over territory roughly equivalent to the size of Virginia would not simply vanish. —David Faris, Newsweek, 19 Jan. 2025

Abbott plays Blake, a San Francisco man who inherits a rural Oregon farmhouse after his dad vanishes. —Benjamin Vanhoose, People.com, 18 Jan. 2025

Look for the program to continue to grow over the next four years and beyond. 2024 Prediction: Startups will vanish. —Sachin H. Jain, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025

An all-seeing Jorge Bosch is wholly convincing as the long-suffering Argentinian chairman who, at the end of his tether and to everyone’s astonishment, vanishes in desperation from the climactic discussion. —David Benedict, Variety, 17 Jan. 2025

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