The preterite of desaparecer is used to express a specific moment of disappearing in the past. For example, you might say “My keys disappeared this morning,” indicating the exact point when something went missing.

This is a regular -er verb that follows the standard preterite conjugation pattern. Despite its length, it conjugates predictably in the preterite tense.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Desaparecer (to disappear) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of desaparecer indicates a completed action of disappearing or vanishing in the past.

To disappear/vanish: Describes something ceasing to be visible or present, for example El gato desapareció por tres días (The cat disappeared for three days) or Desapareció sin dejar rastro (He/she disappeared without a trace).

To fade away: Used for gradual disappearance, for example El dolor desapareció gradualmente (The pain gradually disappeared).

Examples

Examples of Desaparecer in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Desaparecí de la fiesta sin despedirme. (I disappeared from the party without saying goodbye.)

Desapareciste durante toda la tarde. (You disappeared for the entire afternoon.)

El sol desapareció detrás de las nubes. (The sun disappeared behind the clouds.)

Desaparecimos del radar por unas horas. (We disappeared from the radar for a few hours.)

Los documentos desaparecieron del escritorio. (The documents disappeared from the desk.)

Desaparecí de las redes sociales por un mes. (I disappeared from social media for a month.)

Desapareciste sin dejar rastro. (You disappeared without a trace.)

La mancha desapareció después del lavado. (The stain disappeared after washing.)

Desaparecimos entre la multitud. (We disappeared into the crowd.)

Las llaves desaparecieron misteriosamente. (The keys mysteriously disappeared.)

Desaparecí del trabajo temprano. (I disappeared from work early.)

Desapareciste justo antes de la reunión. (You disappeared right before the meeting.)

El dinero desapareció de mi cartera. (The money disappeared from my wallet.)

Desaparecimos durante las vacaciones. (We disappeared during the vacation.)

Los peces desaparecieron en las profundidades. (The fish disappeared into the depths.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Desaparecer (to disappear) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.