materialize
Americanverb (used without object)
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materializes,
present (3rd person singular)
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materialized,
past participle, past
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materializing
present participle
verb (used with object)
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materializes,
present (3rd person singular)
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materialized,
past participle, past
-
materializing
present participle
-
to give material form to; realize.
This year, she materialized her long-held ambition to go to law school.
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to invest with material attributes.
The writer materializes the more abstract ideas with metaphors, making the concepts easier to grasp.
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to make physically perceptible; cause (a spirit or the like) to appear in bodily form.
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to render materialistic.
verb
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(intr) to become fact; actually happen
our hopes never materialized
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to invest or become invested with a physical shape or form
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to cause (a spirit, as of a dead person) to appear in material form or (of a spirit) to appear in such form
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(intr) to take shape; become tangible
after hours of discussion, the project finally began to materialize
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physics to form (material particles) from energy, as in pair production
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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materializesimple
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materializessimple
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have materializedperfect
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has materializedperfect
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am materializingprogressive
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are materializingprogressive
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is materializingprogressive
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have been materializingperfect progressive
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has been materializingperfect progressive
Past
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materializedsimple
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had materializedperfect
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was materializingprogressive
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were materializingprogressive
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had been materializingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of materialize
Explanation
When you materialize, you show up suddenly after being missing, unborn, or unseen. Think of Harry Potter removing his invisibility cloak. He materializes. Living things aren't the only things that materialize. Car keys and reading glasses materialize when you've been searching for them for a while and then they are suddenly there on the table. If you're lucky an unexpected business deal will materialize. Like material, the word is related to the Latin word meaning "matter." Matter, is, of course, all the stuff of this earth, anything and everything that takes form. So to materialize is to take form.
Vocabulary lists containing materialize
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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The Lightning Thief
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 3
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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:
However, he thinks returns would accrue for investors as cost savings materialize over the long run.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
Whether severe storms will materialize this winter remains an unanswered question.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
While rising factory utilization could support future expansion and investment, the benefits to wages and employment have yet to materialize, he reckons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Once again, that prosperity has failed to materialize.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026
Maybe Pili would materialize out of nowhere just in time to save him.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
If the deal materializes and goes through, it would be “one of the biggest deals in tech,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
Istanbul materializes as a still, dreamlike place in this distinctly modern thriller.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Whether it gets made, he said, depends on whether the fund materializes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Even those whose families migrated here seeking a “better life” can speak to how uneven the American dream materializes across class, race and country of origin.
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026
The hovercraft materializes overhead and two ladders drop, only there's no way I'm letting go of Peeta.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
But although some patients, once medicated, could live rewarding and independent lives, funding for reliable community treatment never materialized, leaving many of the most seriously ill unsupported.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Less than two years later, Villareal said the promise of her vote never materialized.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026
The idea, which was met with fierce opposition from banks, hasn’t materialized.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
Where the worry has materialized is over his support with Black voters, among whom Abdul El-Sayed performed poorly in the primary.
From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026
He had heard people speak of mirages, and had already seen some himself: they were desires that, because of their intensity, materialized over the sands of the desert.
From "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho
The same-store sales streak and the new customers are a signal that the brand’s turnaround is materializing, Jefferies analyst Corey Tarlowe said in a note on Tuesday.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026
The bond-market worry about rising prices is materializing on construction sites and on the shelves of home-improvement centers and hardware stores.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
He acknowledged the Fed “can’t bank on” productivity gains materializing, and said much work needs to be done to evaluate the AI impact before building policy around it.
From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026
Management has been calling for a “hockey stick” in AI consumption during the second half of 2026 and into 2027, and Blakey said the guidance boost suggests that dynamic is materializing ahead of schedule.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 23, 2026
The Assassin stepped forward, materializing from the tree line as if out of thin air.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
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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.
