disappear

[dis-uh-peer]

verb (used without object)

1. to cease to be seen; vanish from sight.

2. to cease to exist or be known; pass away; end gradually.

   One by one the symptoms disappeared.

3. (of a person) to vanish under suspicious circumstances.

   The dictator's outspoken opponent disappeared that evening, shortly after midnight.

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to disappear.

   The magician then disappeared the card.

2. to kidnap or arrest and then imprison or kill (a political opponent) without due process of law.

disappear

/ ˌdɪsəˈpɪə /

verb

1. (intr) to cease to be visible; vanish

2. (intr) to go away or become lost, esp secretly or without explanation

3. (intr) to cease to exist, have effect, or be known; become extinct or lost

   the pain has disappeared

4. (tr) (esp in South and Central America) to arrest secretly and presumably imprison or kill (a member of an opposing political group)

Other Word Forms

• disappearance noun
• nondisappearing adjective
• undisappearing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of disappear¹

First recorded in 1520–30; dis- ¹ + appear

Synonym Study

Disappear, fade, vanish suggest that something passes from sight. Disappear is used of whatever suddenly or gradually goes out of sight: We watched him turn down a side street and then disappear. Fade suggests a (complete or partial) disappearance that proceeds gradually and often by means of a blending into something else: Colors in the sky at sunrise quickly fade. Vanish suggests complete, generally rapid, and often mysterious disappearance: A mirage can vanish as suddenly as it appears.

Example Sentences

Rows of tents - which have sprung up over the city to shelter Palestinians displaced by the Israeli military campaign - have also disappeared over the past month, the images show.

From BBC

Gail got up at some point and released a dove, which weaved around and eventually disappeared.

From Los Angeles Times

This suggests that, even if Labour is able to address the country's policy challenges successfully between now and the next election, support for Reform will not simply disappear.

From BBC

When her mother raged at her in public, she recalls, she "swirled like water down a sink and disappeared".

From BBC

"The manoeuvring in Gaza City poses a real threat to the hostages, both the living and the deceased who could disappear forever," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum warned.

From BBC

Related Words

• abandon 
• depart 
• die 
• die out 
• dissipate 
• dissolve 
• escape 
• evaporate 
• expire 
• fade 
• flee 
• fly 
• go 
• leave 
• melt 
• perish 
• recede 
• retire 
• retreat 
• sink