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realize

[ree-uh-lahyz]
verb (used with object), re·al·ized, re·al·iz·ing.
  1. to grasp or understand clearly.
  2. to make real; give reality to (a hope, fear, plan, etc.).
  3. to bring vividly to the mind.
  4. to convert into cash or money: to realize securities.
  5. to obtain as a profit or income for oneself by trade, labor, or investment.
  6. to bring as proceeds, as from a sale: The goods realized $1000.
  7. Music. to sight-read on a keyboard instrument or write out in notation the full harmony and ornamentation indicated by (a figured bass).
  8. 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.”
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verb (used without object), re·al·ized, re·al·iz·ing.
  1. to convert property or goods into cash or money.
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Also especially British, re·al·ise.

Origin of realize

1605–15; < French réaliser, Middle French, equivalent to real real1 + -iser -ize
Related formsre·al·iz·a·ble, adjectivere·al·iz·a·bil·i·ty, re·al·iz·a·ble·ness, nounre·al·iz·a·bly, adverbre·al·iz·er, nounhy·per·re·al·ize, verb (used with object), hy·per·re·al·ized, hy·per·re·al·iz·ing.non·re·al·iz·a·ble, adjectivenon·re·al·iz·ing, adjectivepre·re·al·ize, verb (used with object), pre·re·al·ized, pre·re·al·iz·ing.un·der·re·al·ize, verb (used with object), un·der·re·al·ized, un·der·re·al·iz·ing.un·re·al·ize, verb (used with object), un·re·al·ized, un·re·al·iz·ing.

Synonyms

1. conceive, comprehend. 2. accomplish, effect. 3. See imagine.

Antonyms

1. misunderstand.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for realising

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • It is only by realising what I am that I have found comfort of any kind.

    De Profundis

    Oscar Wilde

  • He was silent a moment, realising with a wonder beyond words how different it was.

  • My great desire was to have a house that should be entirely my own, and I was then realising it.

    My Double Life

    Sarah Bernhardt

  • But realising the futility of such a course, I held my peace and waited agonisedly.

    The Shame of Motley

    Raphael Sabatini

  • What He bore for us, shall we shrink from so much as realising?

    Holbein

    Beatrice Fortescue

British Dictionary definitions for realising

realize

realise

verb
  1. (when tr, may take a clause as object) to become conscious or aware of (something)
  2. (tr, often passive) to bring (a plan, ambition, etc) to fruition; make actual or concrete
  3. (tr) to give (something, such as a drama or film) the appearance of reality
  4. (tr) (of goods, property, etc) to sell for or make (a certain sum)this table realized £800
  5. (tr) to convert (property or goods) into cash
  6. (tr) (of a musicologist or performer)
    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
  7. to sound or utter (a phoneme or other speech sound) in actual speech; articulate
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Derived Formsrealizable or realisable, adjectiverealizably or realisably, adverbrealization or realisation, nounrealizer or realiser, noun
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

Word Origin and History for realising

realize

v.

1610s, "bring into existence," from French réaliser "make real" (16c.), from Middle French real "actual" (see real (adj.)). Sense of "understand clearly, make real in the mind" is first recorded 1775. Sense of "obtain, amass" is from 1753. Related: Realized; realizing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper