disappear

disappear — verb

1. to move out of sight, or to reach a place where nobody can see or find you

1.verbintransitiveA2
Definition

to move out of sight, or to reach a place where nobody can see or find you

Example

Yuki looked up and saw the cat disappear behind the garden wall.

disappear + behind [physical object]

The sun disappeared below the horizon just before seven.

Common collocations
  • disappear from view
  • disappear into thin air
  • disappear behind something
  • disappear under water
  • simply disappear
  • suddenly disappear
Synonyms
  • vanish

    more sudden or dramatic; suggests a complete and often mysterious disappearance

  • fade (away)

    implies a gradual rather than sudden disappearance

  • evaporate

    more informal; often used for people leaving quickly or items going missing suddenly

Antonyms
  • appear

    the direct opposite — to come into sight

  • reappear

    to come back into sight after disappearing

Grammar Patterns

disappear + from/into/behind/under [place]

disappear + adverb (suddenly/slowly/completely)

Usage Note

Frequently followed by a phrase showing direction or location, such as 'behind', 'into', 'from', or 'under'.

Common Mistakes

She disappeared the room.
She disappeared from the room.
'disappear' is intransitive in this sense; you cannot directly 'disappear' a person or thing.

2. to stop existing forever, so that something or someone is no longer present or a

2.verbintransitiveB1
Definition

to stop existing forever, so that something or someone is no longer present or available anywhere

Example

Many old traditions have disappeared as the city has grown bigger.

disappear as [something happens] — cause-effect pattern

The pain in Indra's shoulder disappeared after two days of rest.

Common collocations
  • disappear completely
  • disappear overnight
  • disappear gradually
  • disappear forever
  • disappear from the earth
  • tradition disappears
  • species disappears
Synonyms
  • vanish

    more sudden; used especially when something stops existing abruptly

  • die out

    phrasal verb; used mainly for species, traditions, or customs that gradually cease to exist

  • fade away

    suggests a slow, gradual ending rather than a sudden one

Antonyms
  • appear

    to come into existence

  • emerge

    to come out and become known or existent after a period

Grammar Patterns

disappear + adverb (gradually/overnight/completely)

disappear over time

3. to take someone away and secretly imprison or kill them, often because of their

3.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to take someone away and secretly imprison or kill them, often because of their political views, without telling anyone their location or fate

Example

During the dictatorship, hundreds of students were disappeared by the security forces.

passive: [person] was disappeared by [institution]

The regime was accused of disappearing journalists who wrote about government corruption.

active transitive: [government] disappeared [person]

Common collocations
  • political dissidents were disappeared
  • disappeared by the regime
  • disappeared activists
  • forcibly disappeared
  • was disappeared
Synonyms
  • abduct

    general term for taking someone by force, not limited to political contexts

  • forcibly disappear

    the full legal/human-rights term; more precise and formal

  • spirit away

    more literary; implies secret removal without legal process

Grammar Patterns

[person] was disappeared by [institution]

[government] disappeared [someone]

Usage Note

Almost exclusively used in political contexts involving state or military actors. The passive form ('was disappeared') is especially common. Distinguish from sense 1: in this sense, someone else causes the disappearance, rather than the person going somewhere voluntarily.

Common Mistakes

The thief disappeared the painting from the museum.
The thief stole the painting from the museum.
'disappear' in this political sense is not used for ordinary theft; use 'steal' or 'take' instead.
She disappeared her phone.
She lost her phone.
the transitive political sense of 'disappear' does not apply to objects you have misplaced.

4. to make something vanish by taking it away in a secret or dishonest way, so that

4.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to make something vanish by taking it away in a secret or dishonest way, so that nobody can find it

Example

The accountant disappeared all the financial records just before the tax inspection.

disappear + [incriminating documents]

Caleb was caught on video trying to disappear the evidence from his locker.

Common collocations
  • disappear evidence
  • disappear documents
  • disappear records
  • mysteriously disappeared
  • disappear from the file
Synonyms
  • get rid of

    phrasal verb; more neutral and can be used for any kind of removal

  • make disappear

    a more explicit and slightly more formal alternative

  • spirit away

    implies moving something secretly; slightly literary

Grammar Patterns

disappear + [object] (documents/evidence/files)

be disappeared (passive) — of objects

Usage Note

This is an informal transitive use of 'disappear' common in crime, thriller, and office contexts. Unlike sense 3, it applies to objects, not people, and does not carry political overtones. Often used when someone destroys or hides evidence or records.

Common Mistakes

I disappeared the trash.
I took out the trash.
Do not use this sense for routine removal; it implies secrecy or dishonesty.
Idioms

disappear off the face of the earth

idiom

to vanish completely, so that nobody knows where you are or whether you still exist — as if you no longer live anywhere on the planet

After the trial, the main witness seemed to disappear off the face of the earth.

The village post office has not disappeared off the face of the earth; it just moved to a new street.

disappear into thin air

idiom

to vanish suddenly and completely, in a way that seems impossible or mysterious

Kian locked his bike at the station, but by the evening it had vanished into thin air.

The money was on the desk one minute and then disappeared into thin air.

do a disappearing act

idiom

to leave or become impossible to find, especially at a time when people need you or expect you to be available

Whenever it is time to do the dishes, my roommate does a disappearing act.

The babysitter did a disappearing act right before the parents came home.

disappear/vanish off the face of the earth

idiom

To completely stop being seen or found anywhere.

After the argument, my brother vanished off the face of the earth.

Did the old documents just disappear off the face of the earth?

disappear, vanish, etc. into thin air

idiom

To disappear suddenly and without any explanation.

The magician made the rabbit vanish into thin air on stage.

My keys disappeared into thin air; I searched everywhere.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words describe something leaving sight or ceasing to be visible, but they differ in speed and atmosphere. 'Disappear' is the most neutral and general — it simply means to become impossible to see or find, with no implication of how quickly it happens. 'Vanish' is more dramatic and sudden, often used when something seems to disappear impossibly fast ('the plane vanished from the radar'). 'Fade away' suggests a slow, gradual disappearance, like a sound growing quieter or a colour losing its brightness. 'Evaporate' is informal and vivid, comparing disappearance to liquid turning into vapour; it works well for people who leave abruptly ('the crowd evaporated when the rain started') or for hopes that dissolve. 'Recede' is more specific — it describes something moving further away until it disappears from view, like a shoreline or a figure walking into the distance. For everyday use, 'disappear' fits most situations; choose 'vanish' for suddenness, 'fade away' for slowness, 'evaporate' for informality, and 'recede' for distance.

vanish ↗fade away ↗evaporate ↗recede

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • from view
  • from sight
  • into thin air
  • off the face of the earth
  • without a trace

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Disappear was formed by adding the prefix dis- ('away, apart, reversal') to the verb appear, which comes from Latin apparēre ('to come in sight, become visible'). The literal meaning is therefore 'to un-appear' or 'to become unseen'. The word entered English in the late 1400s from Old French desaparoir. The political transitive sense (to make someone disappear, used especially of state abduction) emerged in the mid-20th century, first documented in Latin America during the 'dirty wars' and adopted into English human-rights reporting.