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Glite Dictionary
to vanish off the face of the earth

to vanish off the face of the earth

1 8.1
Disappear completely so no one knows what happened and no sign is left
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : desaparecer por completo
  • She just vanished off the face of the earth?

Examples

  • After the storm, the entire village seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth.

  • - It's like you vanished off the face of the earth.

    Mighty Aphrodite (1995)

  • You vanished off the face of the earth for 12 months.

    Annihilation (2018)

  • Otherwise, the Kayis will vanish off the face of the earth... ...like a seed in the camel's rumen.

    Heirloom (2019)

  • During the investigation, many witnesses vanished off the face of the earth without a trace.

  • When he moved to a new city, it felt like he had vanished off the face of the earth to his old friends.

Synonyms

to disappear
vsto vanish off the face of the earth
∞ 1.0

To stop being seen or to no longer be there

emphasizes complete loss with no trace and unknown fate rather than mere invisibility
to go away
vsto vanish off the face of the earth
463 1.0

To stop being seen or felt

means complete disappearance with no trace and no known explanation rather than mere absence
to vanish
vsto vanish off the face of the earth
421 3.0

Disappear suddenly and completely for no clear reason

means total erasure leaving no trace and no known explanation
to slip away
vsto vanish off the face of the earth
32 3.4

To leave a place quietly without anyone noticing

is about complete disappearance leaving no trace and unknown outcome rather than quiet leaving
to disappear into thin air
vsto vanish off the face of the earth
  • Informal
8 4.4

To vanish suddenly with no trace

emphasizes total loss and unknown fate rather than mere invisibility
to dematerialize
vsto vanish off the face of the earth
  • US
5 9.6

Disappear from sight and stop having a physical form

implies total loss with no trace and no explanation rather than physical change
to drop off the radar
vsto vanish off the face of the earth
  • Informal
1 7.5

To stop being seen or heard from by others

means complete disappearance leaving no trace and no known explanation
vanished
vsto vanish off the face of the earth
1 4.4

No longer present or existing

focuses on disappearance that leaves no trace and unknown outcome
gone off the face of the earth
vsto vanish off the face of the earth
  • Informal
9.5

Someone or something disappears completely so nobody knows where they are

is identical in meaning but uses a different grammatical form

Antonyms

to remain
∞ 1.0

To stay in the same place or state and not change

to appear
873 1.0

To come into view or become visible

How Gone

to vanish off the face of the earth
  • Informal
1 8.1
to vanish
421 3.0
to disappear
∞ 1.0
mislaid
4.7

Surface Forms

vanish off the face of the earth infinitive

Morphology

vanish + off + the + face + of + the + Earth

The verb 'vanish' (to disappear) combined with 'off' + 'the face of the Earth' (away from the world's surface) yields the sense of disappearing completely, so a learner who knows the parts can often infer the general meaning. However, 'the face of the earth' is a conventionalized, hyperbolic metaphor rather than a literal location, so the exact emphatic sense ('without a trace, unknown whereabouts') is somewhat idiomatic and may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without prior exposure.

Etymology

Vanish off the face of the earth paints the picture of someone or something being taken away from the very face of the earth, as if erased from a map; you can imagine no place left to look. That's why it means 'to disappear completely so that no trace remains and no one knows what happened'.