disappear
dih-suh-PEER
Disappear (verb) means to vanish from sight; to stop being visible. Example: “The footprints began to disappear as the tide came in.”
verb
1
To vanish from sight; to stop being visible.
"The footprints began to disappear as the tide came in."
"The sun disappeared behind the clouds."
"Her keys seem to have disappeared from the counter."
2
To go missing, especially suddenly and without explanation.
"My neighbour's cat disappeared last week, and nobody has seen her since."
"He had a habit of disappearing for days without telling anyone where he went."
"The witness disappeared before the trial began."
3
(transitive, informal) To make someone vanish, especially by abducting or killing them for political reasons.
"Many families still search for relatives who were disappeared during the years of military rule."
"The government was accused of disappearing its opponents in the middle of the night."
"Journalists critical of the regime were sometimes disappeared."
How to use disappear
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo go out of sight or go missing — sometimes used, chillingly, as a transitive verb for making someone vanish by force.
Memory tip
Normally "disappear" doesn't take an object ("he disappeared"), but the political sense ("they disappeared him") is a well-known exception.
Trace the full origin ↓
Common pairings
disappear without a trace
seem to disappear
suddenly disappear
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Word forms
- Third person singular
- disappears
- Past tense
- disappeared
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
The footprints began to _____ as the tide came in.
Etymology
From Middle English disapeeren, built from dis- + appear.
Related words
Rhymes for disappear
See all rhymes for disappear →Frequently asked questions
What does “disappear” mean?
The word “disappear” means to vanish from sight; to stop being visible. In plain terms, to go out of sight or go missing — sometimes used, chillingly, as a transitive verb for making someone vanish by force.
How do you pronounce “disappear”?
“Disappear” is pronounced dih-suh-PEER (/dɪsəˈpɪɹ/ in IPA).
How do you use “disappear” in a sentence?
Here is “disappear” used in a sentence: “The sun disappeared behind the clouds.”
What part of speech is “disappear”?
“Disappear” is a verb.
Where does the word “disappear” come from?
The word “disappear” comes from Middle English. From Middle English disapeeren, built from dis- + appear.
Is “disappear” a common word?
“Disappear” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.
How many meanings does “disappear” have?
“Disappear” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to vanish from sight; to stop being visible.
What is the difference between disappear and vanish?
Both mean to stop being visible, but vanish suggests a sudden, complete, sometimes mysterious departure, while disappear is the neutral, all-purpose word. A ship can slowly disappear over the horizon, but a magician's assistant vanishes. In most sentences the two are interchangeable, with vanish adding a touch of drama.
Can you "disappear someone" — is disappear ever transitive?
In standard grammar disappear is intransitive: things disappear, you do not disappear them. However, an informal transitive use exists, meaning to make a person vanish, especially by abducting or killing them for political reasons ("dissidents were disappeared"). This grim usage is well established in reporting on political repression.
How do you spell disappear — one s or two?
Disappear has one s and two p's. It is formed from the prefix dis- added to appear, so the only doubled letters are the two p's that appear already contains. The frequent misspellings "dissapear" and "disapear" both break that dis + appear pattern.
What is the difference between disappearing and going missing?
When a person disappears, the word stresses the sudden, unexplained nature of the event; when a person goes missing, the phrase stresses their ongoing status as not yet found. News reports often use both: someone disappeared on a given date and has been missing since. For objects, disappear is usual, and "go missing" is especially common in British English.
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