realize

realize
rea‧lize S1 W1 (also realise British English) /ˈrɪəlaɪz/ verb [transitive not usually in progressive]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
     

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. | 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 | 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. | It only dawned on her that she was in danger when she saw rescue workers running away from the building. | 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. | 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. | A thought has just struck me - there must be other people with the same problem.