"It takes considerable knowledge just to realize
the extent of your own ignorance."
-- Thomas Sowell
realize
verb [trans.]
1 - become fully aware of (something) as a fact; understand clearly:
he realized his mistake at once | [with clause] they realized that something was wrong |
she had not realized how hungry she was.
2 - cause (something desired or anticipated) to happen:
our loans are helping small business realize their dreams |
his worst fears have been realized.
• fulfill:
it is only now that she is beginning to realize her potential.
3 - (usu. be realized) give actual or physical form to:
the stage designs have been beautifully realized.
• use (a linguistic feature) in a particular spoken or written form.
• Music add to or complete (a piece of music left sparsely notated by the composer).
4 - make (money or a profit) from a transaction:
she realized a profit of $100,000.
• (of goods) be sold for (a specified price); fetch:
the drawings are expected to realize $500,000.
• convert (an asset) into cash:
he realized all the assets in her trust fund.
realise
not a word
(Technically, the British spell it this way from time to time.)
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Realise and realize are different spellings of the same word, and both are used to varying degrees throughout the English-speaking world. Realize is the preferred spelling in American and Canadian English, and realise is preferred outside North America. The spelling distinction extends to all derivatives of the verb, including realised/realized, realising/realizing, and realisation/realization.
Although realize is now regarded by many in the U.K. and Australasia as the American spelling, it is not an Americanism. In fact, the -ize spelling variant is older than -ise—realize predates the United States and Canada by nearly two centuries—and has been the preferred spelling throughout most of the word’s history in English. If we can believe the ngram below, which graphs the use of realize and realise in British books and journals published between 1800 and 2000, realise had a brief ascendancy in British English from the late 19th century through the early 20th, but realize was preferred before around 1875 and is again preferred today—perhaps because of the influence of dictionaries like Oxford, Cambridge, and Collins, which encourage -ize over -ise.
Although realize is now regarded by many in the U.K. and Australasia as the American spelling, it is not an Americanism. In fact, the -ize spelling variant is older than -ise—realize predates the United States and Canada by nearly two centuries—and has been the preferred spelling throughout most of the word’s history in English. If we can believe the ngram below, which graphs the use of realize and realise in British books and journals published between 1800 and 2000, realise had a brief ascendancy in British English from the late 19th century through the early 20th, but realize was preferred before around 1875 and is again preferred today—perhaps because of the influence of dictionaries like Oxford, Cambridge, and Collins, which encourage -ize over -ise.
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As the -ise spelling grows in popularity, realize is increasingly associated with North American writing, giving rise to the belief that it is an Americanism and hence to be avoided. There is no doubt, however, that both -ize and -ise are acceptable in British, Australian and New Zealand English, and writers in those varieties should not feel obliged to shun -ize, nor should they abandon -ise if they prefer it. The caveat on this advice is the -ize suffix does risk distracting non-American readers with what is (mistakenly) perceived to be a Americanism.
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