realization
Americannoun
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realizations
plural
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the making or being made real of something imagined, planned, etc.
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the result of such a process.
The new church was the realization of a ten-year dream.
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the act of realizing or the state of being realized.
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an instance or result of realizing.
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Music.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of realization
First recorded in 1605–15; from French réalisation; equivalent to realize + -ation
Explanation
A realization is the act of becoming completely aware of something. Many children who walk into a circus tent for the first time are struck with the realization that clowns are terrifying. A realization is a gradual or sudden understanding or comprehension of something. Another way to use the word realization is to mean the fulfillment of something that was previously only imagined, like the realization of your dream of becoming a pastry chef, or the realization on stage of the play you scribbled on napkins and scraps of paper. Realization grew out of the French réaliser, "to make real."
Vocabulary lists containing realization
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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:
Your late husband seems to have reached that painful realization through chronic illness.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
The moment when she stands up, she has come to a clarifying realization that her line has just been crossed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
If there’s a path to transhumanism, which makes possible realization of otherwise unrealizable goals, such as survival of the species and an interplanetary future, it also starts here.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
"Even though we believed these theories to be true, it's important to have an experimental realization, something you can poke and prod," Alicea says.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
As I sift through this stuff, a realization hits: I no longer have to keep the box a secret from my parents.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
India’s coal inventories have fallen to seven days versus a 10-year average of 15 days, while higher global coal prices could also support domestic e-auction realizations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
That’s the essence of Tomlinson’s realizations in her book — she’s growing into herself but that girl who started performing stand-up shows on the church circuit at 16 is still in there.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
The realizations this sort of musing can lead us to are not always pleasurable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
One of the family’s first realizations is that they can’t build their little house alone.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
Oddly, by midsummer, these sad realizations about my mother translated into a sort of talent.
From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
