Meaning & use
vanished
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“vanished” is a form of “vanish”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitive
disappeared suddenly and completely, often in a way that is hard to explain
Grammar: No object; the thing that disappears is the subject: The keys vanished.
Patterns
- something vanished
- someone vanished from somewhere
- something vanished into something
The magician waved his hand and the coin vanished.
Her smile vanished the moment she saw the bill.
The ship vanished into the fog.
adjectivebefore a noun
no longer existing or present; gone completely
Grammar: Used before a noun to describe something that has completely gone: a vanished world.
Patterns
- a vanished world
- a vanished civilization
- a vanished species
The museum recreates a vanished way of life.
They searched for the vanished painting for years.
Word forms
| base form | vanish |
|---|---|
| third person singular | vanishes |
| present participle | vanishing |
| past tense | vanished |
| past participle | vanished |
Common combinations
- vanish without a trace
- The plane vanished without a trace over the ocean.
- vanish into thin air
- The documents seemed to vanish into thin air.
- vanish from sight
- The deer vanished from sight in seconds.
- vanish overnight
- The company's profits vanished overnight.
Synonyms and how they differ
- disappear
- The most general word; it can be gradual or sudden, while 'vanish' often suggests a sudden, complete, or mysterious disappearance.
- evaporate
- Used figuratively for feelings or money that gradually disappear, not for physical objects that vanish suddenly.
- fade
- Suggests a slow, gradual loss of color, sound, or memory, not a sudden complete disappearance.
Opposites
Word family
- vanish verb
- to disappear suddenly and completely
- vanishing adjective
- disappearing or becoming less common
- vanishingly adverb
- used before 'small' or 'rare' to mean extremely
Commonly confused: vanished or varnish?
vanished vs varnish
A noun meaning a clear liquid that gives wood a shiny surface; 'vanish' is about disappearing.
Practice
The thief _____ through the back door before the police arrived.
Choose one answer.
'Vanished' is the past tense needed here to describe a completed action. 'Vanishing' would need an auxiliary verb (was vanishing), and 'varnishes' is a different word meaning to cover with a shiny liquid.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “vanished”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.