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Synonyms

realize

American

[ree-uh-lahyz] / ˈri əˌlaɪz /

especially British, realise

verb (used with object)

to grasp or understand clearly.

Synonyms:

comprehend, conceive

Antonyms:

misunderstand
to make real; give reality to (a hope, fear, plan, etc.).

Synonyms:

effect, accomplish
to bring vividly to the mind.
to convert into cash or money.

to realize securities.
to obtain as a profit or income for oneself by trade, labor, or investment.
to bring as proceeds, as from a sale.

The goods realized $1000.
Music. to sight-read on a keyboard instrument or write out in notation the full harmony and ornamentation indicated by (a figured bass).
Linguistics. to serve as an instance, representation, or embodiment of (an abstract linguistic element or category).

In “Jack tripped,” the subject is realized by “Jack,” the predicate by “tripped,” and the past tense by “-ed.”

verb (used without object)

to convert property or goods into cash or money.

realize British

/ ˈrɪəˌlaɪz /

verb

(when tr, may take a clause as object) to become conscious or aware of (something)
(tr, often passive) to bring (a plan, ambition, etc) to fruition; make actual or concrete
(tr) to give (something, such as a drama or film) the appearance of reality
(tr) (of goods, property, etc) to sell for or make (a certain sum)

this table realized £800
(tr) to convert (property or goods) into cash
(tr)
1. to expand or complete (a thorough-bass part in a piece of baroque music) by supplying the harmonies indicated in the figured bass
2. to reconstruct (a composition) from an incomplete set of parts
to sound or utter (a phoneme or other speech sound) in actual speech; articulate

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Synonym Usage

See imagine.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of realize

First recorded in 1605–15; from French réaliser, Middle French, equivalent to real real ¹ + -iser -ize

Explanation

When you realize something, you become fully aware of what is happening, like when you realize all the people in your basement who are smiling at you and starting to sing to you are there because it's your birthday. Surprise! Realize usually describes the moment your thoughts click, like the moment you close the door behind you, you realize you don't have your keys. You are locked out! So you knock on your neighbor's door. You realize, here meaning that you are fully aware, that she might not appreciate having to help you because she's trying to leave for work. You tell her your new goal is to be more organized. She says, until you realize, or reach, that goal, you better hide an extra key somewhere in your yard.

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Vocabulary lists containing realize

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

realize realizes realized realizing

“I think that’s the most common pitfall we see. You can get overlaps in exposures, or gaps in exposures, that you don’t realize that you have.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

“What we didn’t realize was that the public can watch, but there’s no talking allowed,” Michael Lavina, a protest organizer and volunteer with the local chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, told me.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026

But, she added, “I didn’t realize how much fun it was too.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

“I didn’t realize how unforgiving the market was prior to graduating,” Erle said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

I didn’t realize until this moment how badly I wanted him to say the breakup was all him.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Mr. Gill looks back at that 1992 interview and others and realizes that the Jeff Beck he thought he knew is a mystery, a self-contradicting trickster with a tendency to be witty and evasive.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

There comes a point at which a woman realizes she’s a lot closer in age to Diane Keaton in “Something’s Gotta Give” than Amanda Peet, and she’s OK with that.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026

Pappas also realizes the necessity of mental-health support for officials but says “it’s hard to find specialists in the officiating niche.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Goodwin herself is steeped in retirement-planning knowledge and feels prepared — but realizes it’s still very precarious out there for women.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

And then realizes he’s soiled the magic carpet of the greatest empire in the world and says, “Oh!”

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

Part of the reason is that I initially tried to avoid roles that involved AI, but I quickly realized that’s almost impossible.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

By the end of 2024, Aggarwal realized the efforts to integrate AI weren’t working.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

During interviews conducted after the experiment, most participants said they had not realized that their posture was being manipulated.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026

“At one point, I looked back and there was a sea of Deadheads who realized it was Bob Weir,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

But now I realized that he was still very much of the old world.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Season 2 starts with her realizing she’s probably better off free of her mystery prize.

From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026

"One of the most exciting things about this work is realizing that we've surveyed many more stars than initially thought," she said.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026

While 75% of Americans said lifestyle behaviors are very important for maintaining brain health as they age, there’s a disconnect when it comes to people realizing these habits can reduce the risk of dementia.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

Just kind of enjoying where I’m at right now, and realizing I need to have success here to make it there.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026

“It’s called ‘Por si acaso no regreso,’ and it’s about Celia realizing she might never be able to see Cuba again.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023