realize

Definition

To become aware of, understand, or appreciate (a fact or situation, especially something which has been true for some time).

Etymology

PIE word *reh₁ís From real (adjective) + -ize (suffix denoting the making of what is indicated by the word it is attached to), possibly modelled after French réaliser, Middle French réaliser (“to make real; to convert (something) into assets or cash”), from real (“actual, real”) + -iser (suffix denoting the making of what is indicated by the word it is attached to). Real is derived from Old French reel, from Latin reālis (“actual, real”), from rēs (“deed; event; matter; thing”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *reh₁ís (“goods; wealth”)) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship).

Example Sentences

• "He realized that he had left his umbrella on the train."
• "She desperately yelled at her young daughter, frantic to make her realize what she had done."
• "[S]he cannot realize the change we must undergo. She has no idea of poverty but in the abstract: she has only read of it in poetry, where it is allied to love."

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