Meaning & use
disappear
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Meanings
verbintransitive
To go out of sight so that you can no longer be seen.
Grammar: No object: the plane disappeared into the clouds.
Patterns
- disappear from view
- disappear into something
The sun disappeared behind the hills.
The cat disappeared under the sofa.
He disappeared into the crowd.
verbintransitive
To go missing, with no one knowing where someone or something has gone.
Grammar: No object; common in news about missing people.
Patterns
- disappear without a trace
Three hikers disappeared in the mountains.
My keys disappeared again this morning.
Money keeps disappearing from the cash box.
verbintransitive
To stop existing, or to fade away completely.
Grammar: Often for a thing that is lost over time: traditions disappear.
Patterns
- disappear altogether
Many small shops have disappeared from the town.
The pain disappeared after a few days.
Some languages disappear as speakers grow old.
Word forms
| third person singular | disappears |
|---|---|
| past tense | disappeared |
| past participle | disappeared |
| -ing form | disappearing |
Common combinations
- disappear without a trace
- The ship disappeared without a trace.
- disappear from view
- The train disappeared from view.
- suddenly disappear
- The signal suddenly disappeared.
- gradually disappear
- The stain will gradually disappear.
- disappear into thin air
- My wallet seems to have disappeared into thin air.
- disappear off the face of the earth
- He seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth.
Synonyms and how they differ
- vanish
- Vanish is more dramatic and suggests sudden, complete disappearance.
- fade
- Fade suggests a gradual loss of strength or visibility, not abrupt absence.
- vanish
- Vanish is slightly literary and used for sudden or surprising disappearance.
- evaporate
- Evaporate is figurative for hopes or support disappearing quickly.
Opposites
Word family
- disappearance noun
- the act of disappearing
- appear verb
- to come into view
- disappearing adjective
- becoming invisible or lost
- reappear verb
- to come into view again
Commonly confused: disappear or disappoint?
disappear vs disappoint
Disappoint means to let someone down; disappear means to go out of sight.
Practice
The magician made the coin ______ and then found it behind the child's ear.
Choose one answer.
Disappear means vanish from sight, which suits the trick. Appear is the opposite and would not need to be found afterward.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “disappear”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.