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 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
The dawning realization that the problems these men face aren’t failures at being men.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
“It’s just a natural execution of that realization for us.”
From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026
This realization led us to launch a national initiative at Georgetown University’s Center for Youth Justice to find, research, and recognize these burial grounds, and to honor the children buried there.
From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026
Maybe this was hunger brewing inside her and not a realization that all she wanted to do was quit the language camp and go on home.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
