visualize
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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to make visual or visible.
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to form a mental image of.
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to make perceptible to the mind or imagination.
verb
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to form a mental image of (something incapable of being viewed or not at that moment visible)
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med to view by means of an X-ray the outline of (a bodily organ, structure, or part)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of visualize
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.
Vocabulary lists containing visualize
Common Senses: Vid, Vis ("See")
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Hatchet
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STAAR Grade 8 Reading: The Language of the Test, List 3
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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.
Another reason why your Marathon Man is a formidable way to visualize your financial future: He must embody all of your experience.
From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026
Snyder adds: “Meeshie is able to visualize things 10 steps ahead of everyone else, even things that seem like a complete mess.“
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026
Instead, researchers relied on micro-CT scanning, which allowed them to visualize the full skeleton in just a few months.
From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026
To visualize microscopic asbestos fibers in talcum powder, he brought a bale of hay into a courtroom and dropped a needle into the blades.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026
The orderly said his eyes stayed open to the end, and I could visualize those steel-blue eyes blazing.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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.
