re·al·ize / ˈrē(ə)ˌlīz/ • v. [tr.] 1. become fully aware of (something) as a fact; understand clearly: he realized his mistake at once | 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. ∎  Mus. 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.DERIVATIVES: re·al·iz·er n.

realize. To give full artistic life to mus. left by the composer in a contemp. style, e.g. to fill out the continuo bass line of a 17th- or 18th-cent. comp., to write in ornamentation, to interpret vague directions as to the manner of perf. Thus one speaks of Britten's ‘realizations’ of Purcell, etc., rather than his ‘arrangements’, and of Leppard's ‘realizations’ of Venetian operas compared with ‘editions’ by Harnoncourt, Glover, etc.