Kanji for なくす - to lose something


When I went to check the kanji for なくす (to lose something) I saw that
tangorin.com offers 3 different possible characters. I've seen the first one
(無) in some mangas and that's the one I knew, but there are 2 alternatives
(亡くす, 失くす). I was wondering if there was any difference in meaning/usage
between those characters.




We can use three different kanji, 無, 失, and 亡 for "なくす." 大辞林 published by
Sanseido defines "無くす" as:

① verb. make an existing thing unintentionally disappear, lose sth., e.g.
財布を無くす.

② lose, give up (motivation, confidence).

③ remove, sweep away.

"亡くす" as:

① verb. a euphemistic expression for describing the fact that a family member
or a relative of the speaker is dead, e.g. 彼は母親を早く亡くした – He lost his mother
very early.

② lose.

失くす and 失う are equivalents that simply mean “to lose,” e.g. [視力]{しりょく}を失くす/
[失]{うしな}う / [失明]{しつめい}する – lose eyesight.




To agree with Nothing at all's comment, 亡くす is used to refer to when someone
dies, in the sense of "I lost my relative to cancer". See
[here](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/je/56176/meaning/m0u/%E4%BA%A1%E3%81%8F%E3%81%99/)
for a few examples.

I have never seen 失くす used before, and it is not in the dictionary I typically
utilize (Goo). However according to [this
post](http://lang-8.com/938361/journals/57648627560524573121628893123908144234)
(which specifically discusses the difference in these Kanji), it says that
while it is not a normal reading, it is used in some casual situations for the
same meaning as 無くす.

