# disappear

Pronunciation: say "dis-uh-PEER" US /dɪsəˈpɪɹ/, UK /dɪsəˈpɪə/

## Verb

1. To stop being visible; to pass out of sight.
   - Simple: To stop being seen all at once.
   - _The hikers watched the trail disappear under fresh snow._
   - _Her smile disappeared the moment she heard the news._
2. To go away or become lost, so that something is no longer present or available.
   - Simple: To go away or get lost so it cannot be found.
   - _Funds from the account disappear without explanation each month._
   - _Several species disappeared from the region after the river dried up._
3. To go missing; to become a missing person whose whereabouts are unknown.
   - Simple: To go missing, so that no one knows where you are.
   - _The journalist disappeared after publishing the report._
   - _Hundreds of people disappear each year without a trace._
4. To make someone vanish; especially, to abduct or kill a person for political reasons.
   - Simple: To secretly take someone away, often for political reasons, so they are never seen again.
   - _The dictatorship disappeared thousands of dissidents over the decade._
   - _Secret police can disappear a critic without any public record._

## Origin

From Middle English 'disapeeren', formed from the prefix 'dis-' plus 'appear'. It displaced the native Old English word 'fordwīnan'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/disappear (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).