From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdisappeardis‧ap‧pear /ˌdɪsəˈpɪə $ -ˈpɪr/ ●●● S2 W2 verb [intransitive] 1 DISAPPEARto become impossible to see any longer SYN vanish OPP appeardisappear behind/under/into etc The sun had disappeared behind a cloud.disappear from view/sight David watched her car until it disappeared from view. At this point the path seemed to disappear altogether (=disappear completely).2 to be lost, or to become impossible to find SYN vanish The two girls disappeared while walking home from school. My keys have disappeared again.disappear without trace British English, without a trace American English (=without any way of finding them) 75,000 soldiers simply disappeared without trace.3 DISAPPEARto stop existing The rain forest may disappear forever.COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 2: to be lost, or to become impossible to findadverbssimply disappear (=used to emphasize that it is very strange)After two weeks it seemed that the boys had simply disappeared.completely/totally disappearMy spectacles have completely disappeared again.mysteriously disappear (=in a way that no one can explain)Several reporters in the area have mysteriously disappeared.suddenly disappearThe ship had suddenly disappeared in calm waters.phrases disappear without a trace (also disappear without trace British English) (=completely)Hundreds of people disappear without trace every year.disappear into thin air (=completely)The money he made has disappeared into thin air. THESAURUSdisappear if something disappears, you cannot see it any longer, or it does not exist any longerThe sun slowly disappeared over the horizon.Millions of people saw their savings disappear.16% of the forest cover has disappeared during the last 100 years.vanish to completely disappear, especially suddenlyThe boat vanished without trace off the coast of Australia.All hopes of finding the boy alive have vanished.The fields have vanished beneath a new town of skyscrapers and motorways.go away to stop existing – used about something bad such as a pain or a problemI wish this headache would go away.I’m afraid the problem won’t just go away.fade away to gradually become less clear, strong, or bright, and finally disappearHer voice began to fade away.His anger slowly faded away.The last rays of the evening sun were fading away.melt away especially literary to disappear, especially gradually – used about feelings or groups of peopleThe crowd began to melt away.His initial excitement had melted away.die out to stop existing after gradually becoming more and more rare – used about a type of animal or plant, a disease, or a customWolves had died out in much of Europe.Many of the old childhood diseases have almost died out.become extinct if a type of animal or plant becomes extinct, it stops existingDinosaurs became extinct millions of years ago.If nothing is done to save the whales, they will soon become extinct. → See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
disappear• Where are my keys? They seem to have disappeared.• But the urge to indulge, never rational, never completely disappears.• She was taken aback to realise just how far her reservations about seeing him had disappeared.• As the economy improves, workers fears of being laid off have disappeared.• By the time of the trial, the tape had mysteriously disappeared.• Once you start drinking too heavily, the beneficial effects of alcohol disappear.• Drugs won't make the pain disappear altogether, but they will help.• More of you may be working a flexible schedule that means lunch has disappeared altogether.• At midnight the lights disappeared and Gilbert was gone; his Newfoundland project lay in neglect for three decades.• The sun disappeared behind a cloud.• Small companies will disappear by being merged into big ones.• Thousands of miles of rainforest are disappearing every year.• 13 year-old Nicola disappeared from her home on Saturday night.• Of course nobody much resents the Bucks now, since they disappeared from national prominence almost as quickly as they arrived.• The dolphin has just about disappeared from the coasts of Britain.• The letter had mysteriously disappeared from the file overnight.• "The Little Mermaid" video quickly disappeared from the stores.• Sheila's car turned the corner and disappeared from view.• The scars will disappear in a year or two.• The parents of an art student who disappeared in the middle of his exams have made an emotional plea for him to come home.• They ended in a pair of green bronze doors, each so high that they disappeared into the gloom.• She watched the boat sail out to sea until it disappeared over the horizon.• Your grief won't disappear overnight. It takes time to get over the death of someone close to you.• Moran stayed in bed until late that day, disappearing silently into the fields after eating.• I thought I had a copy of the notes, but they seem to have disappeared somewhere.• When I turned round, I discovered the man had disappeared with my bag.• That way they would disappear without trace.disappear altogether• And as that sense of independence grew, so the need I felt to control my weight subsided and finally disappeared altogether.• But this collaboration of culture and nature also meant that females were on the verge of disappearing altogether.• He seems to have bloody well disappeared altogether.• More of you may be working a flexible schedule that means lunch has disappeared altogether.• Perhaps in time, if washed by tears, they will become indistinct and a few will disappear altogether.• Repeated attempts to provoke an attack may cause the symptoms to disappear altogether.• Become a part of your local scene and it may well disappear altogether, except when your activities arouse friendly interest.• If you look too hard it disappears altogether into a kind of wistful, disappointed light in the night sky.disappear without trace• Both car and occupants had disappeared without trace.• That way they would disappear without trace.• The abbey lies in ruins today and its celebrated relic has disappeared without trace.• Without radio play, a record can disappear without trace.• Of the vole molars, 2 out of 18 split longitudinally, 12 disappeared without trace, and only 4 were left intact.• Two of them disappeared without trace as fast as they could.• Hundreds of people disappeared without trace every year.• Just about everyone hoped they would disappear without trace when that tide ebbed and frenetic buying and selling ground to a halt. 