Realize

How to spell realize

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce realize

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does realize mean?

1. verbTo become fully aware of a fact or situation and grasp its significance.
2. verbTo make something happen in reality, or to convert an asset into actual money or profit.

Realize in a sentence

• She began to realize how much the project would cost.

• After years of saving they could finally realize their dream of a house by the sea.

• Only later did he realize that his train had left without him.

• If she sells the shares now she will realize a modest profit.

Where does realize come from?

Language of origin: French

This word arrived in English around the early 1600s, borrowed from the French verb realiser, meaning 'to make real' or 'to bring into being'. The French built it on reel, their word for 'real', which traces back to the Latin realis, meaning 'actual' or 'relating to a thing', from the noun res, simply 'a thing' or 'a matter'. The earliest English sense was the concrete one of making something real, such as turning a plan into fact or converting property into actual money; the now-dominant mental sense of 'to grasp clearly in the mind' did not become common until the late 1700s. The same Latin res lies behind 'real', 'really' and even 'republic' (from res publica, 'the public thing'). The spelling trap is the suffix: the -ize ending reflects the Greek-derived -izo verb pattern that came through Latin, and although British writers often see -ise in similar words, realize with a z is fully standard in American, Canadian and Oxford British usage.

How the word is built

• real (from Latin realis: actual, relating to a thing)
• -ize (verb-forming suffix: to make or become)

British and American spelling

Realize is the American spelling. British English spells it realise.