| 1. | to disappear from sight, esp. quickly; become invisible: The frost vanished when the sun came out. |
| 2. | to go away, esp. furtively or mysteriously; disappear by quick departure: The thief vanished in the night. |
| 3. | to disappear by ceasing to exist; come to an end: The pain vanished after he took an aspirin. |
| 4. | Mathematics. (of a number, quantity, or function) to become zero. |
| 5. | to cause to disappear. |
| 6. | Phonetics. the last part of a vowel sound when it differs noticeably in quality from the main sound, as the faint (ē) at the end of the (ā) in the pronunciation of pain. |
van·ish (vān'ĭsh) intr.v. van·ished, van·ish·ing, van·ish·es
[Middle English vanisshen, alteration of Old French esvanir, esvaniss-, from Vulgar Latin *exvanīre, alteration of Latin ēvānēscere : ē-, ex-, ex- + vānēscere, to vanish (from vānus, empty; see euə- in Indo-European roots).] van'ish·er n., van'ish·ing·ly adv., van'ish·ment n. |