materialize

American  

[muh-teer-ee-uh-lahyz] / məˈtɪər i əˌlaɪz /

especially British, materialise

verb (used without object)

materialized, materializing

1. to come into perceptible existence; appear; become actual or real; be realized or carried out.

   Our plans never materialized.

   Synonyms:

   issue, rise, show, emerge

2. to assume material or bodily form; become corporeal.

   The ghost materialized before Hamlet.

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verb (used with object)

materialized, materializing

1. to give material form to; realize.

   This year, she materialized her long-held ambition to go to law school.

2. to invest with material attributes.

   The writer materializes the more abstract ideas with metaphors, making the concepts easier to grasp.

3. to make physically perceptible; cause (a spirit or the like) to appear in bodily form.

4. to render materialistic.

materialize British  

/ məˈtɪərɪəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. (intr) to become fact; actually happen

   our hopes never materialized

2. to invest or become invested with a physical shape or form

3. to cause (a spirit, as of a dead person) to appear in material form or (of a spirit) to appear in such form

4. (intr) to take shape; become tangible

   after hours of discussion, the project finally began to materialize

5. physics to form (material particles) from energy, as in pair production

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Other Word Forms

• materialization noun
• materializer noun
• rematerialize verb
• unmaterialized adjective

Etymology

Origin of materialize

First recorded in 1700–10; material + -ize

Example Sentences

Cultures clashed, synergies failed to materialize and profits sank.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

That concern is particularly heightened if a fire doesn’t materialize — less of an issue for hurricanes.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

That outlook certainly has a chance to materialize, as there are plenty of reasons to believe credit card companies will protect against the stablecoin threat.

From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026

“It is possible that the upside and downside risks could both materialize, with energy prices remaining high and AI-enabling goods trade continuing to surge,” the WTO said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

And yet so great was the cry for milk for children that the cow seemed to materialize from the very hunger of the people, until one could almost see the animal loping down the street.

From "Milkweed" by Jerry Spinelli

Related Words

• appear
• emerge
• happen
• occur
• realize
• take place
• turn up
• unfold