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

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

The program, Prime Invitee, will vanish in less than a month.

From Los Angeles Times

The parents of missing baby Emmanuel Haro pleaded not guilty to a single count of murder each on Thursday, more than two weeks after the child’s mother claimed he vanished during an attack.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s not unreasonable to wonder whether a few of those same viewers may come to better appreciate what we lose when the world’s Truth Tellers vanish.

From Salon

In Lillie’s second mystery, tensions rise between Rhode Island’s Narragansett tribe and the Founders Society’s Mayflower descendants after 300-year-old sacred remains are unearthed, then vanish from a Society campground.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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