Re"al*ize, v. i. To convert any
kind of property into money, especially property representing
investments, as shares in stock companies, bonds, etc.
Wary men took the alarm, and began to realize, a
word now first brought into use to express the conversion of ideal
property into something real.
W. Irving.Re"al*ize (rē"al*īz), v.
t. [imp. & p. p. Realized (-
īzd); p. pr. & vb. n. Realizing (-
ī`zĭng).] [Cf. F. réaliser.]
1. To make real; to convert from the imaginary or
fictitious into the actual; to bring into concrete existence; to
effectuate; to accomplish; as, to realize a scheme or
project.
We realize what Archimedes had only in
hypothesis, weighing a single grain against the globe of
earth.
Glanvill.
2. To cause to seem real; to impress upon the
mind as actual; to feel vividly or strongly; to make one's own in
apprehension or experience.
Many coincidences . . . soon begin to appear in them
[Greek inscriptions] which realize ancient history to
us.
Jowett.
We can not realize it in thought, that the
object . . . had really no being at any past moment.
Sir W. Hamilton.
3. To convert into real property; to make real
estate of; as, to realize his fortune.
4. To acquire as an actual possession; to
obtain as the result of plans and efforts; to gain; to get; as, to
realize large profits from a speculation.
Knighthood was not beyond the reach of any man who
could by diligent thrift realize a good estate.
Macaulay.
5. To convert into actual money; as, to
realize assets.