visualize

American  

[vizh-oo-uh-lahyz] / ˈvɪʒ u əˌlaɪz /

especially British, visualise

verb (used without object)

visualized, visualizing

1. to recall or form mental images or pictures.

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verb (used with object)

visualized, visualizing

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

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

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

This new model could give scientists a powerful way to study rotating gravitational systems and better understand pulsars, which are typically difficult to visualize directly.

From Science Daily • Mar. 28, 2026

To visualize these interactions, the researchers used a method called whole-mount immunofluorescence, allowing them to capture detailed three dimensional images of lesions and surrounding cells.

From Science Daily • Feb. 15, 2026

Better analytics and ways to visualize what athletes’ bodies are doing could bring more fans and democratize training for those who don’t have access to top-notch coaches.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026

Try to visualize how the party looked, but from a different angle.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2026

But the reader, with no agent in sight, has no way to visualize the event being moved forward by its instigator.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• anticipate
• dream up
• envision