Meaning & use
make disappear
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Meanings
phraseidiom
To cause someone or something to stop being visible or to go away completely.
Grammar: Followed by an object and a bare infinitive: make + object + disappear, with no 'to' before 'disappear'.
Patterns
- make someone disappear
- make something disappear
- make something disappear from somewhere
The magician made the coin disappear behind his hand.
Heavy rain made the mountains disappear behind a gray curtain.
A single click made the whole message disappear from the screen.
phraseidiom
To remove something completely so that it is no longer present or available.
Grammar: Often used with abstract things such as problems, doubts, or debt; the object comes between 'make' and 'disappear'.
Patterns
- make a problem disappear
- make doubts disappear
- make something disappear overnight
The new software made the paperwork almost disappear.
A good apology can make tension disappear quickly.
No policy can make poverty disappear overnight.
Common combinations
- make something disappear completely
- The cleaner made the stain disappear completely.
- make evidence disappear
- Someone had made the evidence disappear before the trial.
- make a problem disappear
- Extra funding made the problem disappear for a while.
- make someone disappear
- In the story, a spell makes the villain disappear.
Synonyms and how they differ
- remove
- A single verb meaning to take something away; it is more neutral and does not suggest anything mysterious.
- eliminate
- More formal and often used for problems or competitors; 'make disappear' is more vivid and often dramatic.
- vanish
- Describes something going out of sight by itself, without anyone causing it; 'make disappear' always names a cause.
Opposites
Word family
- disappear verb
- To go out of sight or stop existing.
- disappearance noun
- The fact of someone or something going missing or stopping to exist.
Commonly confused: make disappear or make it to disappear?
make disappear vs make it to disappear
This is wrong; after 'make' plus an object, use the bare infinitive 'disappear' with no 'to'.
Practice
Which sentence is grammatically correct?
Choose one answer.
'Make' takes an object followed by a bare infinitive, so 'made the rabbit disappear' is correct. 'To disappear' and 'disappearing' do not fit this pattern, and the object must come before the verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “make disappear”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.