disap pear

i. [Pref. dis, and Eng. appear (q. v.).] 1. To go out of or be lost to sight; to vanish; to become invisible. "A you sand, you sand rings of light That shape themselves and disappear Almost as soon as seen." Words worth: White Doe of Rylstone, iv. 2. To cease to exist. "Abuse after abuse disappeared without a struggle."Macaulay: Hist . Eng ., ch. i. Crabb thus discriminates between to disappear and to vanish: " To disappear comprehends no particular mode of action; to vanish includes in it the idea of rapid motion. A thing disappears either gradually or suddenly; it vanishes on a sudden. A thing disappears in the ordinary course of things; it vanishes by an unusual effort, a supernatural or a magic power. Any object that recedes or moves away will soon disappear ; in fairy tales things are made to vanish the instant they are beheld. To disappear is often a temporary action; to vanish generally conveys the idea of being permanently lost to the sight. The stars appear and disappear in the firmament; lightning vanishes with a rapidity that is unequaled." ( Crabb: Eng. Synon.)