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Glite Dictionary
to evanesce

to evanesce

9.9
To disappear slowly like mist
  • verb
  • /ˌɛvəˈnɛs/
  • Literature
translation icon : evanescencia
  • The magician made the rabbit evanesce before the audience's very eyes during the final trick.

Examples

  • But unless U.S. influence is harnessed to a grand strategic purpose that transforms regional conceptions of security, it will evanesce, and the Gulf War will fade in memory as American power withdraws, leaving the rudiments of a new security system in place.

    Academic text (1991)

  • As the sun set, the light began to evanesce slowly, casting a golden hue across the horizon.

  • Over time, the old photograph started to evanesce, leaving only a faint outline of the faces it once captured.

Synonyms

to disappear
vsto evanesce
∞ 1.0

To stop being seen or to no longer be there

adds the sense of gradual fading rather than a simple stop
to fade
vsto evanesce
531 1.2

To slowly become less visible, bright, or loud

focuses more on the simple ending of presence rather than quality loss
to go away
vsto evanesce
463 1.0

To stop being seen or felt

is the more precise or literary expression of slow disappearance
to pass
vsto evanesce
199 1.0

To move into a different state or condition

narrows this to slow, gradual ending rather than any change
to fade away
vsto evanesce
69 3.0

To become weaker and then disappear over time

is a more literary or formal label for the same slow change
to blow over
vsto evanesce
52 3.6

To become less serious or be forgotten over time

is about things losing presence rather than problems losing weight
to dissolve
vsto evanesce
43 3.9

To slowly disappear or become less clear

describes the same slow end but in more general usage
to slip away
vsto evanesce
32 3.0

For time to pass without anyone noticing

is about things becoming less present rather than unnoticed passage
to fade out
vsto evanesce
15 3.9

Gradually become harder to see or quieter until it disappears

is a broader idea of gradual disappearance across many contexts
to pass away
vsto evanesce
12 3.5

To slowly disappear or stop existing

is the same gentle ending idea but in broader contexts
to peter out
vsto evanesce
9 5.6

To slowly become weaker and then stop

is the simple gradual ending idea without stressing the final stop
to die away
vsto evanesce
8 4.2

To become quieter and then stop

is the general slow ending not limited to sounds or feelings
to dwindle away
vsto evanesce
1 4.6

Slowly get smaller in number or amount until nothing remains

covers gradual ending more generally, not only size or quantity change
to ebb away
vsto evanesce
1 5.6

To move back slowly, like water leaving a shore

is the general gradual ending idea without physical movement
to fleet
vsto evanesce
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To gradually fade away

is the neutral modern expression for the same gradual ending
to pass off
vsto evanesce
3.9

To become less strong over time

is used more widely for slow ending of many things

Antonyms

to appear
873 1.0

To come into view or become visible

to emerge
249 3.5

To come out from behind or under something and become visible

to materialize
63 5.8

To become real or happen as hoped

How Quickly

to vanish
421 3.0
to disappear
∞ 1.0
to fade
531 1.2
to evanesce
  • Literature
9.9
to linger
207 3.7

Surface Forms

evanesce infinitive
evanesced past
evanesced past participle
evanescing present participle
evanesces third person singular

Morphology

evanesce = evan + esce

Formed from a Latin verbal stem with the inchoative-like suffix '-esce' which is not a productive, recognizable English suffix for most learners, so the meaning cannot be reliably derived from familiar English bases.

Etymology

Evanesce comes from a Latin verb that literally meant 'to fade away': the prefix e- means 'out' and the root vanescere means 'to disappear', and you can see the same idea in the common word vanish. So, to evanesce is to 'disappear gradually' or slowly fade out.