materialize
American Heritage Dictionary:
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ma·te·ri·al·ize
(mə-tîr'ē-ə-līz') 
v., -ized, -iz·ing, -iz·es. v.tr.
materializer ma·te'ri·al·iz'er n.
v., -ized, -iz·ing, -iz·es. v.tr.
- To cause to become real or actual: By building the house, we materialized a dream.
- To cause to become materialistic: "Inequality has the natural and necessary effect . . . of materializing our upper class, vulgarizing our middle class, and brutalizing our lower class" (Matthew Arnold).
- To assume material or effective form: Their support on the eastern flank did not materialize.
- To take physical form or shape.
- To appear, especially suddenly. See synonyms at appear.
materializer ma·te'ri·al·iz'er n.
USAGE NOTE In its original senses materialize is used without an object to mean "to assume material form," as in Marley's ghost materialized before Scrooge's eyes, or with an object to mean "to cause to assume material form," as in Disney materialized his dream in a plot of orchard land in Orange County. But these uses are probably less common nowadays than two extended senses of the verb. In the first, the meaning is roughly "to appear suddenly," as in No sooner had we set the menu down than a waiter materialized at our table. Some critics have labeled this use as pretentious or incorrect, but it has been around for more than a century, appears in the writing of highly respected writers, and seems a natural extension of the original sense. The second meaning is "to take effective shape, come into existence." In this use, materialize tends to be applied to things or events that have been foreseen or anticipated, and usually occurs in negative constructions: The promised subsidies never materialized. It was thought the community would oppose the measure, but no new objections materialized. While objections continue to materialize against this usage, it too is well established in reputable writing and follows a familiar pattern of metaphoric extension.
Fowler's Modern English Usage:
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materialize
is first recorded in 1710 and its first meaning was transitive (with an object): to materialize an idea was to realize it and to materialize a spirit was to make the spirit appear. Its intransitive use, now more familiar, dates from the late 19th century, still in the context of spiritualism:
The...ghosts...gave dark séances and manifested and materialized—Harper's Magazine, 1884.But in current use the sense has been generalized so much that it means little more than 'happen' or 'become available':
Plans do not always materialise in the anticipated way—Barbara Pym, 1982
The alimony her ex-husband was supposed to pay never materialized—R. Deacon, 1988.
He denied the accusations and threatened legal action that has yet to materialize—Mirror, 2007.This use is so common that objection to it is futile except perhaps in cases (such as the last example given) that are noticeably remote from material existence. Plans and payments can be envisaged in physical terms, whereas action cannot.
| masterful, masterly, massive, massage | |
| materiel, matey, mathematics |
Roget's Thesaurus:
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materialize
verb
- To make real or actual: actualize, realize. Idioms: bring to pass, carry into effect. See do/not do.
- To represent (an abstraction, for example) in or as if in bodily form: body forth, embody, exteriorize, externalize, incarnate, manifest, objectify, personalize, personify, substantiate. See substitute.
- To come into view: appear, emerge, issue, loom, show. Idioms: makeput inan appearance, meet the eye. See see/not see.
Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'materialization'
- Occult States and Experiences - materialization: physical manifestation of nonmaterial phenomenon or spirit
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Materialization
 |
Look up materialization in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Materialization is the name of several things:
- Materialization (parapsychology) — a concept, in parapsychology, is the creation or appearance of matter from unknown sources.
- Materialization (science fiction) — an action, in science fiction, associated with a matter transport system.
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This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Translations:
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Materialize
Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - fremmane, få til at materialisere sig
v. intr. - blive til virkelighed, blive til noget
Nederlands (Dutch)
verwezenlijkt worden, (plots) verschijnen, geest in lichaam doen verschijnen, duidelijk maken
Français (French)
v. tr. - réaliser, accomplir
v. intr. - se réaliser, se concrétiser, prendre forme, surgir (qn, qch) (hum), se matérialiser
Deutsch (German)
v. - erscheinen, (sich) verwirklichen
Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - υλοποιώ/-ούμαι, πραγματώνομαι, γίνομαι, (μτφ.) εμφανίζομαι μυστηριωδώς, ξεφυτρώνω
Italiano (Italian)
realizzare, realizzarsi
Português (Portuguese)
v. - materializar
Русский (Russian)
материализоваться, осуществить
Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - materializar, poner en práctica, realizar, hacer sensible, convertir en realidad
v. intr. - materializarse, hacerse visible o corpóreo, tomar forma, realizarse, aparecer
Svenska (Swedish)
v. - materialisera, förverkliga
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
赋与实质, 物质化, 使体现, 成有形, 实现, 体现
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 賦與實質, 物質化, 使體現
v. intr. - 成有形, 實現, 體現
한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 현실화 하다, 물질적으로 하다
v. intr. - 돌연 출현하다
日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 形体を与える, 具体化する, 実現する, 物質的にする, 肉体的に現われる, 急に現われる, 実利的にする
العربيه (Arabic)
(فعل) يجسد, يجسم
עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - הגשים, הוציא אל הפועל
v. intr. - הופיע, לבש צורה גשמית, התגשם
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Copyrights:
American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Roget's Thesaurus
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Random House Word Menu
© 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier.
Write Brothers Inc.
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Wikipedia on Answers.com
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Materialization.
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