disappearance

noun

Etymology: From disappear + -ance.

1. The action of disappearing or vanishing.

   “Wireless phone technology led to the disappearance of once-common coiled cords for telephone handsets.”

   “As hundreds of volunteers and police scoured parks and waterways in an area of New Orleans Tuesday, there were many questions but few answers about the disappearance 11 days ago of a 26-year-old teacher.”

2. Passing out of sight.

   “From the shore, they watched the disappearance of the ships' masts into the haze.”

3. Leaving secretly of without explanation

   “The prosecuting attorney was concerned about the potential disappearance of witnesses.”

4. Cessation of existence.

   “A single undoubted cure of a demonstrated cancer or sarcoma by this treatment would be enough to say definitely that the treatment exerts some specifically curative influence, for the spontaneous disappearance of undoubtedly malignant growths of this character is almost unknown.”