realize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to grasp or understand clearly.
- Synonyms:
- comprehend, conceive
- Antonyms:
- misunderstand
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to make real; give reality to (a hope, fear, plan, etc.).
- Synonyms:
- effect, accomplish
-
to bring vividly to the mind.
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to convert into cash or money.
to realize securities.
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to obtain as a profit or income for oneself by trade, labor, or investment.
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to bring as proceeds, as from a sale.
The goods realized $1000.
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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)
verb
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(when tr, may take a clause as object) to become conscious or aware of (something)
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(tr, often passive) to bring (a plan, ambition, etc) to fruition; make actual or concrete
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(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
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(tr) to convert (property or goods) into cash
-
(tr)
-
to expand or complete (a thorough-bass part in a piece of baroque music) by supplying the harmonies indicated in the figured bass
-
to reconstruct (a composition) from an incomplete set of parts
-
-
to sound or utter (a phoneme or other speech sound) in actual speech; articulate
Related Words
See imagine.
Other Word Forms
- hyperrealize verb (used with object)
- nonrealizable adjective
- nonrealizing adjective
- prerealize verb (used with object)
- realizability noun
- realizable adjective
- realizableness noun
- realizably adverb
- realization noun
- realizer noun
- underrealize verb (used with object)
- unrealize verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of realize
First recorded in 1605–15; from French réaliser, Middle French, equivalent to real real 1 + -iser -ize
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.
Why it’s vital: Unsettling but gorgeously realized, the series introduces a disquieting dread that encapsulates the fear of being closeted in a small community while acknowledging the bittersweet yearning that comes with an awakening youth.
From Salon
We are a continuous, unbroken chain of life, far more intertwined than we usually realize.
From Salon
As these projects evolved, the researchers realized they all depended on having brighter and more effective calcium sensors.
From Science Daily
Benny, one of my favorite things in “The Smashing Machine” is that it’s funny to realize setting a story at the turn of millennium is a period piece now.
From Los Angeles Times
He also said people going “through this horrible ordeal of cancer or other things” have realized that “this is something that makes them feel better.”
From MarketWatch
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.
