vanish
van·ish/ˈvænɪʃ/verb, noun
vanish is spelled V-A-N-I-S-H: 6 letters and 2 syllables (van·ish). It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, vanish means “To become invisible or to move out of view unnoticed” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in vanish?
| Letters | 6: V-A-N-I-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: van·ish |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,342nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is vanish?
Vanish appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce vanish?
- /ˈvænɪʃ/
Vanish has 2 syllables, split van·ish in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-vanish.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of vanish
- vanishes present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- vanishing participle, present
- vanished participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does vanish mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To become invisible or to move out of view unnoticed.
- 2
To become equal to zero.
The function f such as f(x)#61;x² vanishes at x#61;0.
- 3
To disappear; to kidnap.
noun
- 1
The brief terminal part of a vowel or vocal element, differing more or less in quality from the main part.
a as in ale ordinarily ends with a vanish of i as in ill.
- 2
A magic trick in which something seems to disappear.
The French drop is a well-known vanish involving sleight of hand.
- 3
A disappearance; a vanishment.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Vanish in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | disparaître, s'évanouir , s'annuler |
| German | verschwinden, vergehen, (sich) verflüchtigen |
| Portuguese | desaparecer, esvair, sumir , anular-se |
| Spanish | desvanecerse, esfumarse, evanescerse, evanecerse , anularse |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does vanish come from?
Aphetic for obsolete evanish, from Middle English evanisshen, esvanisshen, from Old French esvanir, esvaniss- (modern French évanouir), from Vulgar Latin *exvanire (“to vanish, disappear, to fade out”), from Latin ēvānēscō, ēvānēscere, from vānus (“empty”). By surface analysis, Latin vān- + -ish (“verb suffix”). Doublet of evanesce. Displaced native Old English cwincan, whose causative persists as quench (“put out (fire)”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).