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

• vanisher noun
• vanishingly adverb
• 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

Many of their cases had vanished from calendars before the Department of Homeland Security placed them on a plane set to return to Guatemala without telling their parents, according to court documents.

From Los Angeles Times

But on Monday morning, the Supreme Court taught me something new: that those promises, in the hands of a certain kind of court, can vanish without argument, without a hearing, without even a signed name.

From Los Angeles Times

Then, on 12 December that year, they vanished again.

From BBC

Anjali has spent the past year shuttling between police stations and courts, tracing the trail of her vanished money and petitioning authorities - including the prime minister - for help.

From BBC

In Krasnoyarsk, a city of more than a million people in Siberia, mobile internet vanished citywide for three days in July and still works poorly.

From BBC

Related Words

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