Vanish Meaning
/ˈvænɪʃ/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo become invisible or to move out of view unnoticed.
verbTo become equal to zero.
Sentence Examples
We should try to be philosophical about life; wealth gained could also vanish.
It's a unique device able to make stress and melancholy vanish.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The magician made the rabbit ____ from the hat in a puff of smoke.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The morning mist began to ____ as the sun rose higher in the sky, revealing the whole of the valley today.
Word Origin & History
Aphetic for obsolete evanish, from Middle English vanyshen, evaneschen, from Old French esvanir, esvaniss- (modern French évanouir), from Vulgar Latin *exvanire (“to vanish, disappear, to fade out”), from Latin evanescere, from vanus (“empty”). By surface analysis, Latin van- + -ish (“verb suffix”). Doublet of evanesce. Displaced native Old English cwincan, whose causative persists as quench (“put out (fire)”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Holly, mistletoe, red berries, ivy, turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, meat, pigs, sausages, oysters, pies, puddings, fruit, and punch, all vanished instantly."
— 1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Three. The Second of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. […], London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, pages 79–80:
"The Bat—they called him the Bat. Like a bat he chose the night hours for his work of rapine; like a bat he struck and vanished, pouncingly, noiselessly; like a bat he never showed himself to the face of the day."
— 1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, chapter I, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 01:
"I realize sometimes / In a web of passion we all get caught / But understand / All the hurt and all the pain / It's gonna vanish just like the rain"
— 1982, Ashford & Simpson, “Love It Away”, in Street Opera:
"And as if to prove it, one of his friends was vanished and was never seen again. The guy got in a taxi one night, and no one ever saw him ever again."
— 2011, Patrick Meaney, Our Sentence Is Up: Seeing Grant Morrison's the Invisibles, Sequart, →ISBN, page 330:
"It was whispered that men had been “vanished” by the Line and returned everted. Turned inside out."
— 2004, John Varley, The John Varley Reader, Penguin, →ISBN:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The magician made the rabbit ____ from the hat in a puff of smoke.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The morning mist began to ____ as the sun rose higher in the sky, revealing the whole of the valley today.