visualize

American  

[vizh-oo-uh-lahyz] / ˈvɪʒ u əˌlaɪz /

especially British, visualise

verb (used without object)

• visualizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• visualized,
  past participle,  past
• visualizing
  present participle

1. to recall or form mental images or pictures.

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verb (used with object)

• visualizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• visualized,
  past participle,  past
• visualizing
  present participle

1. to make visual or visible.

2. to form a mental image of.

3. to make perceptible to the mind or imagination.

visualize British  

/ ˈvɪʒʊəˌlaɪz, -zjʊ- /

verb

1. to form a mental image of (something incapable of being viewed or not at that moment visible)

2. med to view by means of an X-ray the outline of (a bodily organ, structure, or part)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• revisualization
  noun
• visualist
  noun
• visualization
  noun
• visualizer
  noun
• revisualize
  verb
• nonvisualized
  adjective
• unvisualized
  adjective
• visualizable
  adjective
• well-visualized
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• visualizing
  present
• visualized
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• visualize
  simple
• visualizes
  simple
• have visualized
  perfect
• has visualized
  perfect
• am visualizing
  progressive
• are visualizing
  progressive
• is visualizing
  progressive
• have been visualizing
  perfect progressive
• has been visualizing
  perfect progressive

Past

• visualized
  simple
• had visualized
  perfect
• was visualizing
  progressive
• were visualizing
  progressive
• had been visualizing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will visualize
  simple
• will have visualized
  perfect
• will be visualizing
  progressive
• will have been visualizing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of visualize

First recorded in 1810–20; visual + -ize

Explanation

To visualize something is to be able to see it in your mind. From the twitching in their feet, it seems that sleeping dogs often visualize a fenced-in area and about 30 squirrels. Visualizing is a lot like imagining — both involve picturing something in your mind. But while imagine has the sense of wondering and exploring, when you visualize something, your hope is to make it real. Basketball players visualize themselves making a shot to help them sink the basketball in the hoop. Visualize yourself getting the job as you're going in to be interviewed and your chances for success will increase.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

visualize visualizes visualized visualizing

I laughed trying to visualize what she said.

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026

In situations where she is doing a new stunt for the first time, Dalton tries to visualize everything that can go wrong and prepare to react to it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

These risks include a Chernobyl-like or Chinese wet market accident—a mass disruption event in a form we might not even be able to visualize right now.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

The company unveiled the feature as a way to "visualize history, create real estate plans and more."

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

The paper’s graphics department, especially Archie Tse and Matthew Ericson, devised intriguing ways to visualize the complicated data underlying the series.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

This technique visualizes how groups of neurons coordinate their activity, revealing patterns of organization.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2025

The image also visualizes the star’s magnetic field lines, highlighting the magnetic connection between the star and the planet.

From Space Scoop ● Jul. 17, 2025

Rope strung between the space’s many columns visualizes where walls will appear.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 16, 2024

That fragile gleaming pixel reshaped how humanity visualizes its place in the Cosmos.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 18, 2023

The man who visualizes is safe from that intellectual weakness and moral danger.

From Theodore Roosevelt; an Intimate Biography by William Roscoe Thayer

As he visualized Obi-Wan’s sacrifice and the Mos Eisley cantina, he drew associations between sounds and environments that have informed his creative choices ever since.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

The Journal visualized the scene with 3-D modeling software using diagrams from vehicle manufacturers, open-source mapping data, crime-scene photos, court documents and interviews with firearms experts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025

“I just visualized it, and when you do that, it slows you down. It put me in a good mindset.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2025

For the first time we've pulled them out and visualized them from the human brain.

From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2025

She visualized the mother braiding it, her fingers oiling it with pomade before dividing it into sections with a wooden comb.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Motivated by both needs, researchers at Kyoto University developed a new technique for visualizing this difficult-to-observe region.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026

Still, the streaming giant seems to be focusing mainly on the edges of production -- from visualizing a concept early on to color-grading footage after filming wraps.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

You will often see Wembanyama close his eyes before free throws, visualizing the swish.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026

“Pretty much everyone’s visualizing the course turn for turn at this point,” U.S. downhill racer Sam Morse said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2026

I’m up half the night thinking about it, adding to it, visualizing it, wondering if it’s even possible.

From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen

Related Words

• anticipate
• dream up
• envision