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
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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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.
“Then the realization hit that the telecom spending was overblown,” Forrest said.
From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026
While picking through the Google Flights options, several of them reached the daunting realization that their basic economy tickets would cost them somewhere between $600 and $700.
From Slate • May 12, 2026
The realization that one of the country’s top sprinters was a Vista graduate who got her start at the same meet served as further inspiration.
From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026
That’s a realization the world’s major central banks are coming to.
From Barron's • May 1, 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.
