unrealize

U1N1R1E1A1L1I1Z10E1

verb

To make unreal; to idealize.

“I easily realized that all of his statements were wrong. How do you unrealize that?”

OriginEnglish unreal ← Middle English real ← Old French ree →
Scrabble 18
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Meanings

unrealize1

verbunrealize (third-person singular simple present unrealizes, present participle unrealizing, simple past and past participle unrealized)

present singular third person unrealizes · participle present unrealizing · participle past unrealized · past unrealized

  1. transitiveTo make unreal; to idealize.

    Every action that realizes a dream or desire unrealizes it in reality.

    2002, Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet
    2 more examples

    His fancy, habitually moving about in worlds not realized, unrealizes everything at a touch.

    1875, James Russell Lowell, Spenser

    But De Quincey generally sees a much deeper technical significance, an idealizing or unrealizing effect in the language.

    1951, Journal of Literary History, page 39

unrealize2

verbunrealize (third-person singular simple present unrealizes, present participle unrealizing, simple past and past participle unrealized)

present singular third person unrealizes · participle present unrealizing · participle past unrealized · past unrealized

  1. nonce wordTo alter one's own viewpoint after a previous realization; to change one's mind.

    I easily realized that all of his statements were wrong. How do you unrealize that?

Origin

unrealize · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
  3. Proto-Germanic*un-
  4. Proto-West Germanic*un-
  5. Old Englishun-
  6. Middle Englishun-
  7. Englishun-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*(H)reh₁-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*(H)reh₁ís
  10. Proto-Italic*reis
  11. Classical Latinrēs
  12. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  13. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  14. Late Latinreālis
  15. Old Frenchree
  16. Middle Englishreal
  17. Englishreal
  18. Englishunreal
  19. Englishunrealize

From unreal + -ize.

Full word history & related roots →

unrealize · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ent-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂énts
  3. Proto-Germanic*anda-
  4. Proto-West Germanic*anda-
  5. Old Englishand-
  6. Old Englishon-
  7. Middle Englishon-
  8. Englishun-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*(H)reh₁-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*(H)reh₁ís
  11. Proto-Italic*reis
  12. Classical Latinrēs
  13. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  14. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  15. Late Latinreālis
  16. Old Frenchree
  17. Middle Englishreal
  18. Englishreal
  19. Englishrealize
  20. Englishunrealize

From un- + realize.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

neuralize
Cite this entry
APA

unrealize. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unrealize

MLA

“unrealize.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unrealize. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unrealize,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unrealize.

Source: unrealize on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.