vanish

verb

van·​ish ˈva-nish How to pronounce vanish (audio)
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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Many of these no-frills dining spots have vanished, but others are being lovingly reinvented. Austin Bush, Travel + Leisure, 23 Nov. 2024 Meat and chicken all but vanished from the markets months ago, but there are still some local vegetables. Wafaa Shurafa and Fatma Khaled, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2024 Allen was obsessive about studying birds—especially species that were vanishing. Tim Gallagher, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Nov. 2024 The historic memory of these fires, as well as the folk traditions of past generations who burned for agriculture, hunting, and wild foods, has nearly vanished. M. R. O’Connor, The New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for vanish 

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of vanish was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near vanish

Cite this Entry

“Vanish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vanish. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

vanish

verb
van·​ish ˈvan-ish How to pronounce vanish (audio)
: to pass from sight or existence
vanisher noun

More from Merriam-Webster on vanish

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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