rea ‧ lize S1 W1 BrE AmE ( also realise British English ) /ˈrɪəlaɪz/ verb [transitive not usually in progressive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ realism , ↑ realist , ↑ reality , ↑ unreality , ↑ realization ; adverb : ↑ real , ↑ really , ↑ realistically ≠ ↑ unrealistically ; adjective : ↑ real , ↑ unreal , ↑ realistic ≠ ↑ unrealistic ; verb : ↑ realize ]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: French ; Origin: réaliser , from Old French real ; ⇨ ↑ real 1 ]
1 . UNDERSTAND to know and understand something, or suddenly begin to understand it
realize (that)
I suddenly realized that the boy was crying.
Do you realize you’re an hour late?
realize who/what/how etc
I’m sorry, I didn’t realize who you were.
It took us a while to realize the extent of the tragedy.
It was only later that I realized my mistake.
► Do not say that you ‘realize about/of something’. Say that you realize something .
2 . ACHIEVE formal to achieve something that you were hoping to achieve:
She never realized her ambition of winning an Olympic gold medal.
a young singer who has not yet realized her full potential (=achieved as much as she can achieve)
3 . sb’s worst fears were realized used to say that the thing that you were most afraid of has actually happened:
His worst fears were realized when he heard that Chris had been arrested.
4 . MONEY
a) formal to obtain or earn an amount of money:
The campaign realized $5000.
We realized a small profit on the sale of the house.
b) realize an asset technical to change something that you own into money by selling it
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THESAURUS
▪ realize to begin to understand, notice, or know something that you did not understand etc before:
I hadn’t realized that Ben was his brother.
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She suddenly realized who the man in the photograph was.
▪ become aware to gradually realize that something is happening or is true, over a period of time:
He slowly became aware that he was not alone
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People are becoming more aware of the harmful effects of cars on the environment.
▪ dawn on somebody if something dawns on you, you realize it for the first time – often used in the phrase it dawned on somebody :
It dawned on me that he could be lying.
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It only dawned on her that she was in danger when she saw rescue workers running away from the building.
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He thought about the dream for a long time before its meaning began to dawn on him.
▪ sink in if something sinks in, you begin to realize its full meaning or importance, especially gradually:
It took a few minutes for the doctor’s words to sink in.
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The reality of what I had done slowly began to sink in.
▪ hit if a fact hits you, you suddenly understand it and how important it is:
It hit me one day that he didn’t care. He’d talk when I phoned him, but he’d never call me.
▪ strike if an idea or thought strikes you, you suddenly think of it:
It suddenly struck her what a risk she was taking.
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A thought has just struck me - there must be other people with the same problem.