Synonyms

realize

American

[ree-uh-lahyz] / ˈri əˌlaɪz /

especially British, realise

verb (used with object)

to grasp or understand clearly.

Synonyms:

comprehend, conceive

Antonyms:

misunderstand
to make real; give reality to (a hope, fear, plan, etc.).

Synonyms:

effect, accomplish
to bring vividly to the mind.
to convert into cash or money.

to realize securities.
to obtain as a profit or income for oneself by trade, labor, or investment.
to bring as proceeds, as from a sale.

The goods realized $1000.
Music. to sight-read on a keyboard instrument or write out in notation the full harmony and ornamentation indicated by (a figured bass).
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.”

verb (used without object)

to convert property or goods into cash or money.

realize British

/ ˈrɪəˌlaɪz /

verb

(when tr, may take a clause as object) to become conscious or aware of (something)
(tr, often passive) to bring (a plan, ambition, etc) to fruition; make actual or concrete
(tr) to give (something, such as a drama or film) the appearance of reality
(tr) (of goods, property, etc) to sell for or make (a certain sum)

this table realized £800
(tr) to convert (property or goods) into cash
(tr)
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
to sound or utter (a phoneme or other speech sound) in actual speech; articulate

"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

Synonym Usage

See imagine.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of realize

First recorded in 1605–15; from French réaliser, Middle French, equivalent to real real ¹ + -iser -ize

Explanation

When you realize something, you become fully aware of what is happening, like when you realize all the people in your basement who are smiling at you and starting to sing to you are there because it's your birthday. Surprise! Realize usually describes the moment your thoughts click, like the moment you close the door behind you, you realize you don't have your keys. You are locked out! So you knock on your neighbor's door. You realize, here meaning that you are fully aware, that she might not appreciate having to help you because she's trying to leave for work. You tell her your new goal is to be more organized. She says, until you realize, or reach, that goal, you better hide an extra key somewhere in your yard.

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Vocabulary lists containing realize

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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:

realize realizes realized realizing

Only then did I realize this wasn’t simply a recommendation screen.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

"If we want to realize the potential of precision medicine, we have to understand these fundamental biological variables," says Professor Joseph Powell, co-senior author and Director of Garvan's Translational Genomics Program.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026

When I joked, “I didn’t realize I was communicating with the NSA,” without skipping a beat, he replied: “breaking news the fbi let a spy get shot 5 times!”

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

But we have more control over our balance than we may realize, urges Duke University balance researcher, Kristal M. Riska, who’s president of the American Balance Society.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

While shivering violently in cold water, you don't realize you are also sweating as your muscles throw off heat.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

But there is a piece of him that realizes he probably can’t exist anymore.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

“I’ve been doing this work for 30 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this. ...People from San Diego up to Eureka and Humboldt, everybody is mobilizing because everybody realizes what’s at risk.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

There comes a point at which a woman realizes she’s a lot closer in age to Diane Keaton in “Something’s Gotta Give” than Amanda Peet, and she’s OK with that.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026

Goodwin herself is steeped in retirement-planning knowledge and feels prepared — but realizes it’s still very precarious out there for women.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

She is not nearly angry enough, she realizes.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

“I realized that if the attack had already started, I needed to move. I quickly grabbed my documents and the money I had,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

As a freelance writer based in the South, I immediately realized I needed to become obsessed with the details of this case and start reporting.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

At a camp, when he made a 54-yard field goal in a competition, that’s the moment he realized, “I can do this.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

A TikTok search for her name brings up ghoulish videos with thousands of views: “Last video of Hayden Panettiere alive”; “Nobody realized Hayden made three unusual moves before her death.”

From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026

I didn’t move and in that very short time she realized what I was, blew out of the water in a fountain of spray and bottom mud, and was gone.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

Terekh’s path is one traveled by many peaceful Ukrainians who have embraced the war effort after realizing their skills were needed to blunt Russia’s invasion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

"It's an exciting advancement that brings us closer to realizing the dream of a single assay for universal disease detection."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

“I unfortunately kind of skipped over that part,” he said, “and I’m realizing how important that is now.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

Season 2 starts with her realizing she’s probably better off free of her mystery prize.

From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026

If we don’t understand, we ask “What?” and Naano automatically translates into English without realizing it.

From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023