realize
realize — verb
- realizepresent simple I / you / we / they
- realizeshe / she / it
- realizedpast simple
- realizing-ing form
1. to suddenly understand a fact or truth that you did not know or accept before, e
to suddenly understand a fact or truth that you did not know or accept before, especially when something brings it to your attention
Camila suddenly realized she had left her keys inside the locked car.
realize + that-clause for becoming aware of a fact
As the math teacher drew the graph, Darius realized how much more practice he needed before the final exam.
realize + how-clause
The coastal fishing village took years to realize the true cost of the polluted river.
Only after reading the letter did Iker realize the seriousness of the situation.
inversion with 'only after' fronting
Dr. Okonkwo slowly realized that her laboratory results pointed to a different disease.
- suddenly realize
- gradually realize
- come to realize
- realize + (that)
- realize + the importance/truth/extent
- notice
less mental processing — you notice with your senses; realize involves deeper understanding
- recognize
implies identifying something already known, whereas realize can be discovering something new
- grasp
more formal; suggests fully understanding a complex point
- comprehend
more formal and technical; less sudden than realize
Grammar Patterns
realize + (that) clause
realize + wh-clause (what/why/how)
realize + noun phrase (fact/truth/mistake)
Common Mistakes
2. to successfully turn a hope, ambition, or plan into something real through susta
to successfully turn a hope, ambition, or plan into something real through sustained effort
After years of saving, Noa finally realized her dream of opening a small bookstore.
collocation: realize a dream
The young swimmer realized his potential when he broke the national record.
collocation: realize potential
The five-person engineering team realized their goal of launching the translation app by early spring.
Amihan realized her ambition to study medicine when she entered university.
collocation: realize an ambition
- realize a dream
- realize potential
- realize an ambition
- realize a goal
- realize a vision
Grammar Patterns
realize + noun phrase (dream/ambition/potential/goal/plan)
Usage Note
Common objects include dream, ambition, potential, goal, plan, vision. The subject is usually a person or group that worked toward the outcome.
Common Mistakes
3. to happen in exactly the way someone was afraid it would, so that their worry tu
to happen in exactly the way someone was afraid it would, so that their worry turns out to be correct
Adisa's worst fears were realized when sales dropped by half in one month.
passive: fears were realized
Esme's fears about the trip were realized when a storm forced the plane back.
The town's long-held fear of flooding was realized after three days of heavy rain.
pattern: fear of [something] + be realized
Shanti's suspicion that the contractor would overcharge was realized when she saw the final bill.
- fears are realized
- worries are realized
- suspicions are realized
- nightmare realized
- come true
broader — can be positive (dreams) or negative; 'realized' is almost exclusively for negative fears
- materialize
more formal; can be neutral or negative
- prove unfounded
the worry turns out to be wrong
Grammar Patterns
fears/worries/suspicions + be realized
fears + realize themselves
Usage Note
Almost always used in the passive voice with fear, worry, suspicion, dread, or nightmare as the subject.
Common Mistakes
4. to be sold at a public auction for a particular price or amount of money
to be sold at a public auction for a particular price or amount of money
The painting realized over one million dollars at a charity auction in London.
realize + amount of money at auction
The old seaside mansion realized a price far higher than the owners expected.
The collection of rare Japanese stamps from the 1920s realized nearly eighty thousand pounds.
The antique vase realized more than double its estimated value at the sale.
collocation: realize value
- realize a price
- realize a sum
- realize value
- realize a profit
Grammar Patterns
item + realize + amount of money
item + realize + a price/value
Usage Note
No passive form. The subject is always the item being sold, not the seller. Common in auction and real-estate contexts.
Common Mistakes
5. to sell possessions such as property, shares, or investments in order to obtain
to sell possessions such as property, shares, or investments in order to obtain cash
The family realized their assets to pay for their grandfather's medical treatment.
collocation: realize assets
The company realized the value of its real estate by selling the office building.
Several real estate investors realized their profits just before the housing market dropped sharply.
collocation: realize profits
Salma realized her mother's jewelry collection to fund her university tuition.
- realize assets
- realize property
- realize investments
- realize profits
- realize capital
- realize value
Grammar Patterns
realize + assets/property/investments
realize + value/profits/capital
Usage Note
Often used in financial and legal contexts. The subject is the person or organization doing the selling.
Common Mistakes
6. to expand a shorthand musical notation called figured bass into a complete, play
to expand a shorthand musical notation called figured bass into a complete, playable harmony by adding the chords indicated by numbers
The harpsichordist realized the figured bass during the Baroque music concert.
specialist term: realize a figured bass
Music students in the Baroque performance class learn to realize a figured bass line by adding chords above each note.
The conductor asked the cellist to realize the bass part for the upcoming performance of Vivaldi's Gloria.
In the exam, each student must realize a short figured bass passage on the piano.
collocation: realize a bass passage
- realize a figured bass
- realize a bass line
- realize a passage
- harmonize
broader — adding any harmony; realize is specific to figured bass notation
Grammar Patterns
realize + a figured bass
realize + a bass line/part
Usage Note
A specialist term in Baroque music performance. Not used in general English. The subject is always a musician, and the object is a figured bass or bass line.
7. to perform or produce a piece of music from written notes or instructions, givin
to perform or produce a piece of music from written notes or instructions, giving it a specific sound or style
The orchestra realized the composer's score beautifully in the concert hall.
collocation: realize a score
Sora realized the piano piece in a slower, more emotional style than usual.
The choir realized the sixteenth-century hymn according to the original manuscript.
collocation: realize a hymn / piece
The visiting conductor realized the symphony exactly as the composer had marked it in the original score.
- realize a score
- realize a symphony
- realize a piece
- realize music
Grammar Patterns
realize + a score/symphony/song
realize + music + in/with + style/manner
Usage Note
Common in classical music criticism and historical performance contexts. The subject is a performer or ensemble, and the object is a written musical work.
8. to produce a speech sound with a specific quality or position, based on the phon
to produce a speech sound with a specific quality or position, based on the phonetic rules of a language or dialect
In some Scottish English dialects, speakers realize the 'r' sound at the back of the mouth.
specialist: realize a speech sound
The visiting linguist showed the phonetics class how to realize a glottal stop between two vowel sounds.
Young children often realize the 'th' sound of English as 'd' or 'f'.
pattern: realize [sound] as [variant]
In this Liverpool accent, the final 't' is realized as a quick stop.
passive: is realized as
- realize a sound
- realize a phoneme
- realized as
- realized differently
- pronounce
the everyday term; realize is the technical phonetic term
- articulate
also technical; focuses on the physical production of speech
Grammar Patterns
realize + a speech sound
sound + be realized + as + phonetic variant
Usage Note
Primarily used in linguistics and phonetics. Not used in everyday speech about pronunciation — learners should use 'pronounce' instead.
Common Mistakes
Word family
- realizationnounB2
- realizableadjectiveC1
- unrealizedadjectiveC1
- realadjectiveA1
- realitynounB1
- reallyadverbA1
- realistnounB2
- realisticadjectiveB2
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/1
All five words involve taking in information, but they differ in how suddenly or deeply the awareness happens. 'Realize' often comes as a mental shift — you move from not knowing to knowing, sometimes with a jolt. 'Notice' is sensory: you see, hear, or feel something. 'Recognize' means you identify something you have encountered before. 'Understand' is broader and implies a full mental grasp, not necessarily sudden. 'Grasp' adds the idea of managing to comprehend something difficult. For example: Amihan noticed that the door was open (saw it), recognized the old woman at the counter (knew her from before), realized she had lost her wallet (sudden mental discovery), understood why the woman looked worried (full picture), and finally grasped the serious situation after it was explained (struggling but then getting it).
Common collocations
Etymology
Realize entered English in the early 1600s from French 'réaliser', which meant 'to make real'. The French word came from Latin 'realis' (meaning 'real', 'actual'), from 'res' (meaning 'thing' or 'matter'). For most of its history, 'realize' meant 'to make something real or concrete' — you realized a plan by carrying it out. The modern sense of 'become aware' (sense 1) only appeared in the mid-1800s, developing from the idea of 'making a fact real in your mind'.