Disappeared

How to spell disappeared

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce disappeared

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does disappeared mean?

1. verbStopped being visible or present; ceased to exist or could no longer be found.

Disappeared in a sentence

• The keys disappeared somewhere between the front door and the kitchen.

• The small shop disappeared when the new mall opened nearby.

Where does disappeared come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the past tense of 'disappear', which was assembled in English in the late 1500s from the negative prefix 'dis-', meaning 'away' or 'reversal of an action', and the verb 'appear'. 'Appear' itself reached English in the 1200s through Old French 'aparoir', which descended from the Latin 'apparere', a compound of 'ad' (to) and 'parere' (to come into view or become visible). So at its core the word literally means 'to stop being visible' or 'to go away from view'. The double trap in the spelling is built right into its parts: the prefix contributes a single 's', while the root 'appear' supplies the doubled 'p', so writers must remember one 's' but two 'p's. The same 'parere' root survives in relatives such as 'apparent' and 'transparent', all sharing the idea of something showing through or coming to light.

How the word is built

• dis- (away, reversal)
• appear (from Latin apparere: to come into view)
• -ed (past tense)