disappear Hear it!

disappear definition

dis·ap·pear (dis′ə pir′)

intransitive verb

  1. to cease to be seen; go out of sight
  2. to cease being; go out of existence, use, etc.; become lost or extinct

Etymology: ME disaperen: see dis- & appear

transitive verb

to cause to disappear; specif., to kidnap and execute (persons) in a clandestine program of political terror

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

disappear Synonyms

disappear

v.

vanish, fade, come to naught, cease, die, drop out of sight, become imperceptible, withdraw, dissolve, evaporate, pass out of sight, recede from view, cease to be seen, undergo eclipse, pass, go, leave no trace, be swallowed up, fade away, pass away, pass out, retire, retire from sight, retreat, vanish from sight, be lost to view, sink, exit, go off the stage, pass on, leave, vacate, abscond, depart, decamp, perish, die out, become extinct, be eradicated, be consumed, fade out, die away, go away, escape, be gone, dissipate, evanesce, be no more, cease to exist, come to an end, end gradually, wane, ebb, disperse, fall away, melt away, vanish into thin air, dematerialize, vamoose*, do a disappearing act*, take French leave*, pass out of the picture*, go poof*; see also die 2, escape, evaporate 1.

Antonyms appear*, emerge*, materialize.

disappear implies either a sudden or gradual passing from sight or existence customs that have long since disappeared; vanish implies a sudden, complete, often mysterious passing from sight or existence the stain had vanished overnight; fade suggests a gradual, complete or partial disappearance, as by losing color or brilliance the design on this fabric won't fade, his reputation has faded


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

disappear Usage Examples

Preposition: over

  • horizon: NEWHOUSE: I turned, swinging the camera just in time to see the rest of the group disappear over the western horizon.

Preposition: into

  • obscurity: Deller never won another world championship, but nor did he disappear back into total obscurity.

Adjective complement

  • overnight: A year later, a by-pass was built and most of Bob's customers disappeared overnight.

Modifying Another Word

  • mysteriously: Spend time at the park's museum, depicting the story of these people who mysteriously disappeared almost 700 years ago.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • along: The tail gunner had disappeared along with his gun bubble when they had hit the forest canopy.

Used with why or when

  • when: But why didn't the memories disappear when my life became so painful and tearful?

Preposition: without

  • trace: Over the centuries in Carlton many buildings have simply disappeared without trace.

Preposition: in

  • mist: Outside Kings a crane so Huge its top disappears in the mist.

Preposition: from

  • sight: In a few seconds the objects had disappeared from sight.

Preposition: for

  • while: They took some x rays and the vets disappeared for a while.
disappear usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

disappear quotes

Je ne veux pas tomber, non, je veux dispara|"tre. I do not want to fall; I want to disappear.

-Hugo,Victor Marie

I felt quite funny when Freud died. It was like having a continent disappear.

-Jarrell, Randall

disappear quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Link to this page:

Cite this page:

MLA Style

"disappear." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/disappear>

APA Style

disappear. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/disappear

Comments:

Please or Register to post a comment