realization
Americannoun
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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
- nonrealization noun
- prerealization noun
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
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
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Lesson 9
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Camp Panda
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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.
It’s a news-based index that measures “the threat, realization and escalation of adverse events associated with wars, terrorism and any tensions among states and political actors that affect the peaceful course of international relations.”
From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026
It’s a paralyzing realization, she argued, being confronted with “the limits of our body and perspectives — the limits of our very lives.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026
“It’s just a natural execution of that realization for us.”
From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026
As his career took him from startups to larger companies like Amazon, Seyboth had a realization: Work was rather miserable.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
One can also only imagine the feelings elicited by the realization that several other priceless statues had been deliberately sent to a watery grave.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
Definitions 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.
